WILD-ANIMAL 



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Book._ 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



WILD-ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 




■ Permission New York Zoological Society 



Polly, the Celebrated Chimpanzee in the New York 
Zoological Park, who has Succeeded Dohong, the 
Orang-utan, in Popular Favor 



WILD-ANIMAL 
CELEBRITIES 



BY 
ELLEN VELVIN, F.Z.S. 

Author of "Behind the Scenes with Wild Animals," "Animals 
with Histories," "Wild Creatures Afield," etc., etc. 



ILLUSTRATED 



NEW YORK: 

MOFFAT, YARD & COMPANY 

1907 



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| LIBRARY of CONGRESS ' 

j Two Cooies Received 

SEP 27 190f 

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| CLifSS^ XXc, NO, 



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COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, by 
MOFFAT, YARD & COMPANY, NEW YORK 
Published September, 1907 
All Rights Reserved 



DEDICATED BY PERMISSION 

STofm Jgurrougfjs 

IN APPRECIATION OF HIS LOVE OF ACCURACY 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Chap. I. Lions. 

Wallace, Yula, Sultan, Balti- 
more, Schley and Dewey . 1 

Chap. II. A Few Big Cats. 

Lopez, Jaguar; Chang and 
Eng, Snow Leopards . . 23 

Chap. III. Some Celebrated Bears. 

Pete, Russian Brown Bear; 
Csesar, Black Bear; Czar, 
Syrian Bear; Snow, Polar 
Bear 43 

Chap. IV. Elephants. 

Jumbo, Coco, Gypsy, Zebi, 
Gunda, Sultan 61 

Chap. V. Some Great Pachyderms. 
Mezoviro, Rhinoceros ; Vic- 
toria, Rhinoceros ; Hippo, 
Hippopotamus 87 

Chap. VI. Orang-utan. 

Dohong, the Orang-utan . . 104 

Chap. VII. Famous Chimpanzees. 

Polly, Soko, August, Sally, 
Consul, Kruger .... 127 

7 



Chap. 
Chap. 



VIII. Two Bison. 

Black Beauty, Montana 



143 



IX. A Few Hoofed Animals. 

Reno, Elk; Duke, Eland; 
Jack, Donkey 155 

Chap. X. Three Great Birds. 

George and Martha Wash- 
ington, Ostriches; General, 
Condor 177 

Chap. XI. Ponderous Reptiles. 

Old Mose and Number Two, 
Alligators; Buster, Tortoise 199 

Chap. XII. Snakes. 

Fatima, Selima, Great Peter 217 

Chap. XIII. Seals, Sea-lions. 

Tesca, Sea-lion; Toby, Seal; 
Wilmer, Sea-lion .... 233 

Chap. XIV. Dogs. 

Bridge, Eskimo ; Pluto, Great 
Dane 249 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Page 
Polly, the Chimpanzee in the New York Zoolog- 
ical Park, Who Has Succeeded Dohong, the 
Orang-utan, in Popular Favor . . Frontispiece 

Claire Heliot and Her Lion Yula, who is by no 
Means an Animal to be Trusted .... 6 



Lopez, the Celebrated Jaguar in the New York 
Zoological Park, who is one of the Most De- 
ceitful of His Deceitful Kind ... 24 

Mme. Morelli and Her Celebrated Leopard Car- 
touche, who is Noted for His Savageness and 
Untamabilitvt ........ 38 

Snow, the Celebrated Polar Bear in the New York 
Zoological Park, who, in Apparent Playful- 
ness, Killed the Mate Provided for Him . . 50 

Sultan, who is Noted for His Wonderful Feats of 

Equilibrium in the Barnum and Bailey Circus. 84 ' 

Mezoviro, in the New York Zoological Park, is 
one of the Most Interesting Rhinoceroses in 
Captivity 88 

Black Beauty, the Bison in the New York Zoolog- 
ical Park, who Showed such Enmity Towards 
the Other Members of the Herd that he is now 
Kept in Solitude 148 



George Washington, the Celebrated Ostrich on 
the South Pasadena Ostrich Farm, Having His 
Feathers Plucked . . . . . . .178 



Buster, the Celebrated Tortoise in the New York 
Zoological Park, who is About 370 Years Old . 212 



Great Peter, in Bostock's, is one of the Largest 
Pythons Ever Kept in Captivity . . . .226 



wllmer, in the barnum and bailey clrcus, is the 
Only Sea-lion in the World that can Ride on 
Horseback . . . . . . . . .244 



. PREFACE. 

The stories contained in this book are of 
actual animals, nearly all of whom are still 
living and on exhibition in various Zoologi- 
cal Gardens and menageries in different parts 
of the world. The facts related have been 
given me at first hand from the naturalists 
and trainers in charge, and most of the ani- 
mals described are old personal friends of my 
own. 

The majority of instances have come un- 
der my own personal observation and study, 
and, whenever it is otherwise, I have made, 
clear that fact and given the source from 
which I received my information. 

It is, possible in all cases for those readers 
who might possibly doubt some of the in- 
stances related to verify each story told in 
this book by going or writing to those au- 
thorities. 

I am hoping, by presenting this book of 
actually true stories to the public, to show 
and prove some valuable traits in animals 



which may possibly be of some value to 
Natural History. I am specially indebted to 
the facilities afforded me in the New York 
Zoological Park by the courtesy of Mr. W. 
T. Hornaday, the Director, who has given me 
every opportunity to study the animals under 
his care; to Dr. Ernst Pinkert, Director of 
the Zoological Gardens, Leipzig, Germany; E. 
M. B. Villiers, Esq., Superintendent Zoologi- 
cal Gardens, Clifton, Bristol, England; Dr. 
F. A. Crandall, Superintendent of the Zoo, 
Buffalo; Dr. Seitz, Director Zoological Gar- 
dens, Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany; P. 
Chalmers Mitchell, Esq., Secretary Royal 
Zoological Gardens, London, England; Pro- 
fessor Clemente Onelli, Director Zoological 
Gardens, Buenos Ayres; E. F. Scharff, Esq., 
Secretary Royal Zoological Gardens, Dublin, 
Ireland; Edwin Cawston, Esq., President, and 
M. S. Vallely, of the Pasadena Ostrich Farm, 
California; Messrs. Lee & S. Shubert of the 
New York Hippodrome ; Mr. Frank C. 
Bostock; the proprietors of the Barnum 
and Bailey Circus; and to my many 
friends, the trainers, performers, and keepers 
who have done all in their power to 



help me with this book by giving me unique 
information, occasional private performances, 
and some excellent stories. 

The difficulties of obtaining information 
and unique photographs, such as are contained 
in this work, cau only be realized by those 
who have tried it. For instance, an animal 
may be in a zoological garden or animal show 
for years and never once do anything which 
is the least unusual or worthy of notice. 
From many zoological gardens I have received 
the courteous reply that the Directors would 
be only too pleased to give me animal stories 
if they had any, but that they knew of abso- 
lutely nothing of their animals which was 
either unusual or of sufficient interest to 
make even a short anecdote. 

This is only one of the many difficulties, 
but these difficulties have been more than 
compensated for by the many pleasures and 
courtesies I have received during the time I 
have been doing this work. I can only hope 
that my readers will appreciate the stories 
one-half as much as I have appreciated the 
experiences. Ellen Velvin. 

New York City, June, 1907. 



LIONS 



CHAPTER I. 

LIONS 

Wallace, Yula, Sultan, Baltimore, Schley 
and Dewey. 

THERE are so many stories about lions, 
and so many lions in captivity which 
have become known or celebrated in some way 
or another that it is extremely difficult, in a 
book of this size, to determine which to select. 
It would take a whole book to tell of all I have 
heard of or even seen and studied myself; 
so I will only take a few which I think will 
be most interesting" to the general public. 

Nearly everyone who takes any interest in 
wild animals has heard of the famous lion 
Wallace, who is so notorious for his savagery 
and many escapades. Wallace was at one time 
the property of George Wombwell and finally 
became the property of Mr. Frank C. Bos- 
tock, in whose animal show he is still to be 
seen. This lion has been exhibited in all 



2 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

parts of the world, the inhabitants of Aus- 
tralia, Africa, and Southern Europe taking 
a special interest in him. Time after time 
various trainers tried to train this lion and 
perform with him. It has always ended most 
seriously for the trainer, more than one man 
having nearly lost his life. 

Only last winter Mr. Bostock, when at the 
Hippodrome in Paris, was giving a benefit for 
the widows and orphans of some men killed 
in a mining disaster, and undertook to per- 
form with this lion. As a rule Wallace be- 
haved fairly well with Mr. Bostock, but on 
this occasion he turned ugly in the middle of 
the performance and severely injured his mas- 
ter. 

"Wallace created a tremendous sensation on 
his first appearance in America sixteen years 
ago. While the animals were lying in the 
docks at New York, Wallace, who had been 
in the worst of tempers during the voyage 
owing to sickness and the unusual surround- 
ings, became very restless and uneasy, roared 
_and paced about his cage, and tore and 



LIONS & 

strained at his bars as if determined to get 
out. As lie was often in this restless state, 
no particular notice was taken of him, ex- 
cept to see that he was secure. 

But, in some way or another, Wallace did 
get out and, as soon as he found himself at 
liberty, rushed straight for an unfortunate 
horse which was standing near the docks and 
injured it terribly. Men ran out armed 
with all sorts of implements and with fire- 
arms, but with so many men it was extremely 
difficult to shoot without endangering the men 
themselves. 

Finally, one man, seeing the desperate 
plight the poor horse was in, attempted to go 
to his assistance and, getting at close range, 
was just going to fire, when Wallace, with a 
furious growl, rushed at him, bore him to the 
ground and before anyone could prevent it 
killed him. The fright and consternation may 
be imagined, and every man present made the 
very greatest efforts to kill or overcome the 
now furious animal. But in spite of all, 
Wallace defied them, fought so desperately 



4 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

and wildly that it was as much as they could 
all do to save their own lives, and then, in 
the midst of it all, made his escape and was 
free to roam about in the City of New York ! 

For forty-eight hours Wallace was at large, 
and the people were almost in a state of panic. 
All sorts of stories got about. Some declared 
they had seen him in one place, and some in 
another; but one whole day passed without 
anyone knowing his whereabouts, and a ter- 
rible time of anxiety and trouble the pro- 
prietors went through. Large rewards were 
offered for his capture dead or alive, big 
sums were offered to men who would join in 
the search, but it was nearly thirty-eight 
hours before he was discovered lying down 
quietly in a side street, and, whether he was 
faint for want of food, or tired of roaming 
about no one will ever know. After another 
exciting period of ten hours he was driven 
into a cage and his freedom was over. 

About two years after this, at San Fran- 
cisco, while the keepers were feeding the ani- 
mals, one man ventured too near Wallace's 



LIONS 5 

cage. The lion suddenly thrust out one paw 
and tore the man's arm from the shoulder. 
As Wallace was noted only for these blood- 
curdling episodes, I think enough has been 
told about him. His owner declares him to 
be double the age of any lion that has ever 
lived in captivity; he says he has been in 
captivity fifty years, and that it was fifty 
years ago that this lion fought the dogs at 
Warwick Castle in England. He is certainly 
a notorious lion in many ways, and I have 
watched him many a time ; but, beyond show- 
ing that he is of a peculiarly savage nature, 
he does not look any different from any of 
the other lions, except that he is now begin- 
ning to show signs of his age. 

Miss Claire Heliot, who performed with 
twelve lions at the New York Hippodrome 
some time ago, had some extremely fine lions, 
and there was one that interested me very 
much. He was her best lion and the one she 
was always photographed with. Some of 
these photographs which she gave me are 
truly wonderful, showing the nerve she must 



6 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

have to allow such an animal in such close 
proximity, and also the marvelous control she 
must have over the lion to make him keep so 
still. 

This lion Yula was nearly always amiable 
and affectionate when with her, but with the 
men, and on rare occasions with her, he would 
suddenly flare out with such a burst of pas- 
sion that he was by no means an animal to 
be trusted. And yet, at the end of her per- 
formance, Miss Heliot would take this lion 
on her shoulders — he weighed nearly five hun- 
dred pounds— and carry him off the stage! 
I asked her one day how she managed to do 
it, and she told me she had had him since he 
was a young cub ; that she had begun to carry 
him in this manner when he was quite small 
and that, by constantly doing it day by day, 
she had been able to bear as heavy a weight 
as five hundred pounds on her shoulders, 
keep it there and walk across the floor with 
it for a few minutes. 

Towards strangers this lion was anything 
but amiable. I was in the lions' stable one 




Claire Heliot and Her Lion Yuia, who is by 
Means an Animal to'be Trusted 



LIONS 7 

day talking with Miss Heliot while some re- 
pairs were being done to the floor of the 
stables. Consequently it was necessary for me 
to pass close to the lions' cages on one side 
or the other to get into the place at all. Miss 
Heliot stopped my even attempting to do it 
as she said they would be sure to catch me 
with their paws. 

So she stood in front of her favorite lion, 
with both hands spread her skirts out to their 
widest extent, and then told me to go by. 
I did, but that lion noticed it instantly and, 
like a flash of lightning, tried to get his paw 
round Miss Heliot 's skirts and catch me. 
Then she talked to him about it reprovingly 
and the lion's whole manner altered in the 
most wonderful manner. When he had leaped 
up and pushed his paw out through the bars 
his eyes blazed and his mouth opened a lit- 
tle, while his whole attitude told of anger 
and defiance; but, when Miss Heliot talked 
to him he put his head against the bars, 
rubbed it against hers, and hung his head 
afterward in as meek and mild a manner as 



8 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

I suppose it is possible for such a wild ani- 
mal to assume. 

The well-known lion Baltimore, who nearly 
killed his trainer, Captain Bonavita, causing 
his right arm to be amputated, is still in the 
Bostock show and behaves as he always has 
behaved. Quiet and slow, apparently fairly 
good tempered, this lion is only, watching for 
an opportunity to attack some one all the 
time. He will probably never more perform 
with twenty-seven in a group, as he did with 
. Captain Bonavita, but he still performs, and 
will, undoubtedly, one of these days, do his 
best to overcome another trainer. A full ac- 
count of this terrible occurrence is given in 
16 Behind the Scenes with Wild Animals." 

There is a most interesting lion in the New 
York Zoological Park. Sultan has proved 
that some lions, at any rate, do not forget old 
friends. He came from Carl Hagenbeck's es- 
tablishment in Germany and for a time was 
anything but pleased and contented with 
America. No doubt he longed for his native 
home and freedom, but after a while, espe- 



LIONS 9 

cially when lie was provided with a congenial 
companion, Bedouin Maid, he became quiet 
and contented and is now one of the best 
tempered lions in captivity. 

At the sight of his keeper, he will spring 
up, go over to the wire netting and rub him- 
self against it like an old tame cat. Unlike 
most lions, who seldom care for frivolity, he is 
quite playful at times, and at a few friendly 
touches and words from his keeper will roll 
over on his back, wave his paws in the air 
and enjoy it as much as any young kitten. 
His life has not been particularly eventful 
since his arrival in the Park; one day is 
much the same as another and, when he is 
not pacing up and down his cage, he is gen- 
erally sleeping peacefully. When sleeping, 
outside influences, the talking of visitors, roar- 
ings from his neighbors, and the like, are not 
even noticed by him; he sleeps peacefully 
through all, not even taking the trouble to 
open an eye to see what is going on. 

But one day, when sleeping in this peaceful 
manner, Mr. Hagenbeck came into the lion 



10 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

house and, standing in front of Sultan, said 
quietly : 

"Why, there's my old friend, Sultan!" 

The sound of that voice was like an electric 
shock to the lion. His sleepiness disappeared 
as "if my magic. With a bound and little 
curious gutteral growls he was up on his feet 
and over at the bars, rubbing himself against 
them, purring his loudest and doing all in 
his power to show his delight at seeing his 
old friend again. 

The two friends shook "hands" warmly, 
Sultan putting up his paw in the meekest 
manner. It would have been difficult to say 
which was the most pleased, the Barbary lion 
or the dealer in wild animals. Pleased and 
excited as Sultan was to meet an old friend 
again, he seemed to forget the incident 
as soon as it was closed; almost before 
Mr. Hagenbeck was through the doorway he 
settled down comfortably, licked his paws, 
rested his huge head easily on them and 
calmly finished his nap. 

Sultan's wife, Bedouin Maid, distinguished 



LIONS 11 

herself one morning by presenting five fine 
little cubs to the Park. As three is usually 
the largest number at a birth, this was quite 
a large family. The cubs were fine, healthy 
little specimens who looked about and around 
their world from the moment they were born 
— lion cubs are born with their eyes open — 
mewed like little kittens, and were certainly 
the prettiest little animals ever seen. 

Their soft, tawny little bodies were covered 
with faint dark spots ; they were well formed, 
had neat, nicely rounded heads and looked as 
though they had all just waked up from a 
nice refreshing nap. "When these cubs were 
about three months old they had got over the 
worst of their troubles, teething and the like, 
and by this time are no longer cubs ; there are 
now only four of them— one having had an 
accident, and strong, vigorous specimens of 
young lions they are, now over four years 
old and nearly full grown. 

In my many studies of wild animals in 
captivity, I have always maintained that no 
wild animal is ever " tamed," only trained, 



12 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

and I still keep the same opinion, although I 
have seen many wonderful instances of ap- 
parently "tame" wild animals. 

In the Mundy wild animal show at Luna 
Park last year I found two lions, twins, 
Schley and Dewey, who were born at Co- 
lumbia, Tennessee, on September 20, 1901. 
The father and mother are inmates of the 
same show and are trained animals which are 
still performing. At first there did not seem 
to be anything particular or out of the way 
about either of these animals. They were 
both well grown, finely developed and ap- 
parently healthy and weal cared for. But one 
day when Mr. Mundy was taking me around 
the show he told me how wonderfully gentle 
and docile these two animals were, especially 
Schley. Dewey was only docile to a certain 
degree, and when put out about anything 
could get decidedly ugly, and was then dif- 
ficult to manage. 

Schley, on the other hand, up to the time 
I met him had never shown even the slightest 
indications of ill temper or unruliness in any 



LIONS 13 

way or under any circumstances. Mr. Mundy 
stood close to the bars of the cage and this 
full grown lion put his two fore paws through 
the bars round his master's neck, and not 
only drew him close to the bars — a frightfully 
risky thing to do as anyone who knows any- 
thing about wild animals will understand- 
but actually played with his head and 
shoulders in exactly the same manner as a 
cat will play with a ball or any moving object. 

The huge paws, too, I noticed had not their 
villainous claws sheathed but were drawn in 
and out, and it is still a marvel to me that 
the man's head and shoulders were not torn 
to pieces. I have watched many blood-curd- 
ling things in animal shows, many daringly 
risky things which have been exhibited for 
my express edification, but I have never seen 
a more risky thing than that. 

The proprietor seemed to have no fear 
whatever and declared that, as he had reared 
and brought up the animal from a tiny cub, 
it would never hurt him. But I could not 
help noticing in the rough play that his shirt 



14 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

was torn to strips in some parts and called 
his attention to it. He admitted that the 
lion had torn it that morning, but "only in 
play." 

But this lion has certainly done some won- 
derful things. On one occasion, when at 
Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Schley actually 
rode on the front seat of Mr. Mundy's auto- 
mobile through the streets when there were 
over 50,000 people present. Of course many 
precautions were taken and, in case of the 
slightest sign of an intention on Schley's part 
to get down, he would have been shot. But 
he sat there placidly watching the people, 
making no movement whatever, except 
through the motion of the car itself, and ap- 
peared not only contented but calmly inter- 
ested in what was going on. 

On another occasion, when the proprietor 
of the show gave a jungle dinner, Schley was 
allowed to come in at the end of the meal, and 
not only walked in quietly and calmly, but 
actually got on the table itself and sat there 
placidly for some time. He looked around 



LIONS 15 

at the many faces, smelled one or two bottles 
and glasses, sniffed a cigar, which he did not 
seem tcr care for, and then quietly jumped off 
the table and walked to the door as though he 
had had enough of it. 

And, in spite of his apparent tameness, 
there were those in the company who inti- 
mated that as, after all, he was a wild ani- 
mal, perhaps it would be just as well not to 
thwart him, but to let him have his own way. 
And no one can blame those few who gave 
a sigh of relief as the door closed, for, how- 
ever interesting a lion may be at dinner, no 
one can be quite sure what he will do next; 
and even a few playful, clumsy gambols 
might not only turn the tables over, but some 
of the men themselves, and the falling down 
of a man, no matter for what reason, is 
always apt to rouse all the savage instincts of 
a wild animal, no matter how "tame" or well 
trained he may be. 

I watched this lion many, many times last 
summer, and never once did I see the slight- 
est sign of fierceness, savagery, or even that 



16 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

restlessness which is invariable with wild ani- 
mals. As so often happens in all animal 
shows, from some cause or another — and very 
often without any apparent cause at all- 
one animal would get excited, roar, or howl 
according to his nature, and instantly the 
whole collection would join in roaring, howl- 
ing, whining, barking, screaming, crying and 
chattering until one's head grew dizzy with 
the noise and deafening din. 

On all these occasions Schley remained 
exactly the same as before. While all the 
other animals in the show were doing their 
best to let themselves be heard, Schley would 
keep quite still and quiet. At one time he 
got up slowly and reluctantly, yawned as if 
annoyed at being disturbed, looked placidly 
round the show, and then settled himself 
comfortably, as though he took no interest in 
the matter. 

At another time, when a little terrier ran 
into the show yelping at the top of his voice 
in sheer terror, which created a very pan- 
demonium among the animals, Schley walked 



LIONS 17 

slowly forward to the front of his cage, 
watched the little terrier wildly and blindly 
trying-to find a way out of the terrible place, 
and then settled himself on the floor of his 
cage once more, resting his big head on his 
fore paws. Although the roarings and crying 
of the other animals continued for some time 
in spite of every effort to quiet them, Schley 
took not the slightest notice, not even when 
his twin brother, Dewey, rose up, drew in his 
breath in short, quick gasps, and joined in 
vigorously. 

Certainly when feeding time arrives, 
Schley will then, with the others, pace up and 
down and become just as impatient as any of 
them, but it is in a very quiet way, not an 
excitable, wild manner like the others. He 
will clutch at his meat greedily, too, but, when 
he has once got hold of it, his placid manner 
returns and he eats his meal much in the 
same way he does everything else, as if he 
had plenty of time and was not at all uneasy. 

Even if the men pretend to take the meat 
away, an action which will generally make 



18 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

the tamest animal angry, Schley will look 
quietly at them, keep a tight hold of the meat 
and, when they have finished, go on with his 
meal! 

I have never seen any wild animal so ap- 
parently tame, in every way. I say "ap- 
parently" because, as I have said so many 
times before, I do not believe in the ' 'tame- 
ness" of any wild animal, no matter how real 
it may seem to be. A wild animal is always 
a wild animal; no training, care, or kindness 
can ever actually eradicate the inherent sav- 
agery and fierceness of his nature. There 
only needs to be something to bring it out. In 
the majority of wild animals there are certain 
things which almost invariably do so, but with 
Schley these things do not seem to count. 

But one of these days, some little thing will 
happen, some trifle perhaps, which no one will 
expect him to even notice, and from some un- 
known reason, or perhaps no reason at all, 
that savage nature will suddenly assert it- 
self and prove that, after all, Schley is a wild 
animal. If it does not, then, indeed, he de- 



LIONS 19 

serves a monument as one of the most re- 
markable wild animals that has ever been 
known - in captivity. 

And up to this time nothing has happened 
to even ruffle him! 



A FEW BIG CATS 



CHAPTER II. 

A FEW BIG CATS 

Lopez, Jaguar; Chang and Eng, Snow 
Leopards. 

IT seems to me that The New York Zoo- 
logical Park is particularly fortunate in 
obtaining fine specimens of animals, from the 
residents in the Lion House down to the 
smaller rodents in the Small Mammal House. 
One particularly fine specimen of the cat tribe 
is Lopez, a full grown male jaguar, noted for 
his beauty of form, coloring and size, and 
also for an act which has made him notorious. 
He lives in a spacious cage of his own in the 
Lion House, and his ceaseless pacing up and 
down, to and fro, is like the coming and going 
of the tide. 

There are times when, in spite of his clean, 
well kept quarters and his good food, Lopez 
does not seem happy, but it is impossible to 
tell by appearances with this animal what he 



24 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

is feeling or thinking about, for Lopez is one 
of the most deceitful of his deceitful kind. 

When in May, 1903, Lopez arrived at the 
Park, after a somewhat rough journey, he ap- 
peared, after having got over the scared 
period which all wild animals pass through 
after a long journey, to be a playful, genial, 
good-tempered wild cat. Even before being 
transf ered to his home in the Lion House — 
and he w^as one of the very first residents 
there, having been installed before the house 
was finished — he showed a disposition to have 
a quiet game with any one who cared to play 
with him. 

He celebrated his first entrance into his 
new home by rolling on his bask, all four 
paws in the air, and purring loudly. Never, 
from his first appearance in captivity, did 
Lopez ever snarl, beat himself against the bars 
of his cage, or show any particular signs of 
fierceness such as may have been expected 
from one of his nature. Consequently, when 
a fine young female jaguar was purchased 
from Carl Hagenbeck's establishment in Ham- 



A FEW BIG CATS 25 

burg, for the purpose of becoming a com- 
panion for him in his solitude, Lopez mani- 
fested every sign of pleasure and good will. 

But those who know anything of wild ani- 
mals never judge by appearances, and, in 
spite of all the jaguar's demonstrations of 
good will, it was deemed advisable to let 
the newcomer remain in her own cage until 
they were well acquainted with one another. 
Her cage was raised to the level of his and 
the bars were in close proximity to one 
another. 

Lopez was more interested than ever and 
grew so friendly that at last he condescended 
to put his paw through the bars of the cage 
and play with her, to which the young jaguar 
responded. 

She did not seem to have the slightest fear 
of him but to be anxious to get into the larger 
cage, for she had already been in the small 
cramped one— her travelling cage — for six 
long weeks. 

The cages remained in this position for 
several days and, when no signs of dislike, 



26 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

savageness, or displeasure had been noticed by 
anyone, it was decided, after a consultation 
between the Director and those in authority, 
that it was now perfectly safe to admit the 
young jaguar into the cage of Lopez to be his 
companion. 

Both jaguars seemed intensely interested 
in the opening of the doors, and the 
young female jaguar walked quietly through 
with a little purr, evidently expect- 
ing to be warmly welcomed. But the moment 
that door was opened, the evil and latent 
treachery in Lopez's nature came to the sur- 
face. Evidently, he had not eared for the 
new jaguar at all and his friendly overtures 
had meant nothing. His whole attitude 
changed. His eyes blazed, his fur quivered, 
his muscles grew rigid and taut and, with a 
savage, throaty growl, he did as he always 
had done when killing— sprang at the back of 
the young jaguar's neck, inserting his long 
canine teeth deeply and held on like a bull 
dog. So fierce and sudden had been the at- 
tack that the poor young jaguar was power- 



A FEW BIG CATS 27 

less. No available thing could make him even 
loosen his deadly hold, although the keepers 
got an'iron scraper, a hardwood pole over ten 
feet long, and any other tools they could find 
on such short notice. 

Everything was done that could be done 
with such a treacherous and savage brute; 
he was prodded in the face, beaten sharply 
over the head, and on his feet. He simply 
shut his eyes tightly and held on to his vic- 
tim with more force and determination than 
before. He tried to get away once by raising 
himself, and carrying the now dying jaguar 
to the other side of the cage, just as a cat 
would carry a kitten. 

A whole minute or more passed before he 
would let go, and then the young jaguar 
dropped heavily and limply to the floor, 
where she died in a few minutes. There was 
a terrible time in getting the body out, for 
Lopez proved himself to be one of the most 
villainous and savage brutes ever seen in cap- 
tivity, and one or two of the men ran some 
heavy risks, but, when it was finally taken 



28 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

out and examined, it was found that two of 
the neck vertebrae had been completely 
crushed, while the spinal cord was penetrated 
by pieces of bone. 

This is a marvelous fact, especially to those 
who are able to realize the tremendous force 
necessary to accomplish this. He must have 
taken a good, large, square bite, and held on 
until he was compelled to loosen his hold by 
sheer force. 

Many instances have been recorded from 
time to time of the enormous strength of the 
jaguar, but I know of no other so 
astonishing and overwhelming. We are 
told by Naturalists that the jaguar's 
mode of killing is invariable, that it 
springs to the back of its victim and, 
by a sudden, quick movement of its fore 
paws twists its head round and thus breaks 
its neck. Lopez sprang to the right side of 
his unfortunate relation, but he did no twist- 
ing, no wrenching. He buried his teeth in 
the vertebrae of the neck and crushed it, 
evidently as easily as an ordinary house cat 



A FEW BIG CATS 29 

can crush the small, delicate neck of a mouse. 

And for this offence Lopez, like men, has 
to take his punishment, although, being only 
an animal, he, of course, does not know this. 
And he has been condemned to the most ter- 
rible punishment of all— solitary confinement 
for life. For, although anxious to promote 
the comfort and happiness of their animals 
in the Park, the Director and others inter- 
ested do not quite see their way to providing 
an animal companions to be killed by way of 
sport. 

Lopez can be seen in the Lion House at the 
New York Zoological Park any day from 
early in the morning to sunset, either pacing 
restlessly up and down his cage or lying 
silently and sullenly in one of the corners 
or on the top of the shelf at the back, watch- 
ing, with all the slyness and cunning of his 
treacherous nature, for a chance either to 
get out or to catch one of the keepers as 
they go by from time to time. 

As he paces up and down, mark the beauty 



30 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

of his body. The ground color of his fur, 
a yellowish, tawny fawn, lighter on the 
flanks and merging into pure white on the 
under parts. The dark, velvety spots, in the 
form of irregular rosettes, those on the head, 
flanks, and lower parts of the limbs being 
smaller and darker; also the long, furry, 
graceful tail, spotted and terminating in dark 
rings at the tip. 

Note the width and shape of his head, the 
powerful strength of his shoulders, the mus- 
cular indications in his forepaws, hindlegs, 
and feet, and then note, as he stretches forth 
the five claws on each foot in and out of their 
sheathes, with what ease he can scrape up 
the hardwood floor, just as he used to scrape 
all the bark off the trees in his native home. 
Notice the size and strength of his jaws, the 
length and power of his teeth, especially the 
canines at the corners of his mouth, and then, 
last of all, watch his sly, stealthy movements, 
the soft, quick footstep, the swift turn of his 
handsome body as he turns gracefully 
every time he reaches the end of his cage, 
and— most important of all— his deep, 



A FEW BIG CATS 31 

cruel, unfathomable eyes, eyes with very lit- 
tle expression except those of slyness, cun- 
ning, and craft 

Try to attract his attention, to engage his 
interest. He will go on just the same, pacing 
the cage silently and gracefully, occasionally 
stretching his body against the wire netting, 
and, although he knows perfectly well you are 
there, he will vouchsafe no acknowledgment 
of your presence, not even by a growl, for 
his slyness is past all human understanding 
and his treachery is not to be estimated by 
any human being. 

But for all his wickedness and treachery, 
Lopez is one of the finest specimens of the 
jaguar in captivity and one of the most in- 
teresting animals in the Park. I have watched 
him c-arefully for hours at a time, but each 
time I found there was some new phase to 
study, some new features to notice, and this 
personal study is worth all the books and au- 
thorities in the world. 

In these days, with the advantages of so 
many Zoological Gardens and wild animal 



32 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

shows, nearly all are familiar with the 
leopard, and many of us have seen the black 
leopard, with its jet skin looking like richly 
watered silk in some lights, its cruel eyes and 
villainous expression of countenance; but it 
is a comparatively rare thing to have the op- 
portunity of studying a white, or Snow 
Leopard or Ounce, to give it its proper 
name. 

Although known to the scientific world for 
nearly a hundred years, it was a long time 
before the habitat of this animal was discov- 
ered in the elevated part of Central Asia. 
Up to comparatively a few years ago only one 
living specimen had been obtained for ex- 
hibition in Europe. This was quite a young 
one exhibited in the London Zoological Gar- 
dens in 1891. In spite of every care, how- 
ever, it only lived a short time after its ar- 
rival. Since then, another specimen has been 
procured and is now alive and in good con- 
dition in these same Gardens. 

Also, in the Zoological Gardens at Moscow, 
Russia, there is now a very fine pair of these 



A FEW BIG CATS 33 

animals. Just as fine a pair was procured 
for the New. York Zoological Society, one of 
whichThad a most unfortunate history. 

Chang was a beautiful animal in every 
way. Like all his kind his fur was much 
thicker than that of the ordinary leopard 
and of quite a woolly texteure; white, or 
rather a whitish gray on top, merging into 
pure white on the under parts, covered with 
black irregular spots. This thick fur is an 
excellent protection against the bitter winter 
cold of his native home. In the winter it is 
especially beautiful and, when all the other 
occupants of the Lion House — with the ex- 
ception of the pumas— were shut in for the 
winter, Chang and Eng were out in the sweet, 
fresh, keen winter air, thoroughly enjoying 
themselves. 

After the usual restlessness and discontent 
among new surroundings, Chang appeared to 
settle down and become perfectly contented 
and at his ease. Although naturally savage, 
he never showed any abnormal expressions of 
ill temper, and it was taken for granted that, 



34 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

provided his health remained good, he would 
be a resident of the Park for several years to 
come. 

But about two o'clock one morning, when 
all was still and silent in the Park, the watch- 
man who was stationed outside the Lion 
House saw something crouching just outside 
the feed room door. For a few seconds he 
kept perfectly still, and then saw that the 
crouching object was a snow . leopard. 
Now, the wisest thing to have done would 
have been to drive it toward the base of the 
Lion House, open the door, or rather get 
some one to do it, and then drive him in. 
But the wisest things are not always the 
easiest, and it must be remembered that it 
was practically in the middle of the night 
and few others besides the watchman were 
about. 

Consequently, the watchman did the best 
he could on so short a notice ; drawing his re- 
volver he fired no less than five shots at close 
range and never even touched him. No doubt 
he was nervous and fired wide of the mark, 



A FEW BIG CATS 35 

but a leopard is not a small object when close 
by, and it seems an extraordinary thing that 
not a "single shot should even have grazed 
the animal. Of course the shooting roused 
every one within earshot, especially the 
leopard himself, who at once became w^ild 
and fierce, although at first he had seemed 
quiet and frightened as far as the watchman 
could make out. 

He leaped to one place and then to another, 
until no one knew where he was or what was 
going to happen next. Men scuttled in all 
directions to obtain any object of defence 
they could get hold of, all the while wonder- 
ing how on earth the animal could have got 
out. 

The darkness doubled all the difficulties and 
did not tend to lessen the nervousness of the 
men, for, with its cat-like tread and its soft, 
light spring, there was no telling where the 
animal might be or whether it might not 
jump on any one of them at any moment. 
Fortunately, its white coat occasionally served 
as some slight guide to its whereabouts and 



36 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

at odd moments it could be seen either mov- 
ing stealthily along some high place, or 
crouching on some new place on the ground. 
This went on for two long hours, which seemed 
like an eternity to the men on the watch. 
No one thought in the confusion of sending 
or even telephoning to the Director; there 
was no knowing what might happen at any 
moment and I doubt whether any man could 
have been found who would have cared at 
that time to go anywhere alone with that 
wild creature roaming around. 

At last a policeman in the early morning 
light saw it crouching on the top of the lit- 
tle feed cart, 'as though just ready to spring. 
He hurriedly procured a shot gun and, taking 
a careful aim at about a distance of twelve 
feet, shot the animal dead. It seemed a great 
pity, after all the amount of money spent in 
procuring it, and it appeared to be a real grief 
to Mr. Hornaday when he heard of it. But 
the animal was dead, and there was nothing 
to do but to make the best of it. 

Then came the question of how he could 



A FEW BIG CATS 37 

have got out. The doors and all the open- 
ings in the Lion House had been hurriedly 
examined, even while the leopard was still 
prowling about, but every fastening was just 
as it had been left the night before, safely 
barred and locked, and the whole thing ap- 
peared a mystery until daylight appeared 
when it was found that the snow leopard had 
leaped through the skylight glass of his out- 
door cage! 

The strength needed for this feat can read- 
ily be imagined by anyone who cares to take 
the trouble to look at any of the ordinary 
thick glass which is used for skylights. The 
extraordinary thing about the whole matter 
was that the animal did not appear to have 
cut himself in any way, but this may have 
been owing to the thickness of his woolly 
fur. Extra precautions have been taken now 
and there is no possibility of Eng, Chang's 
mate, or any occupant, getting out in that 
way. 

Eng, the remaining snow leopard in the 
New York Zoological Park, is also a fine speci- 



38 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

men but not nearly so fine as Chang was. 
Many Naturalists tell us that in disposition 
the snow leopard is far more gentle and ami- 
able than the ordinary leopard, or the -black 
leopard, and that it has rarely been known 
to molest a human being. Of course, I can- 
not presume to say this is or is not so, never 
having studied creatures in their native 
haunts, but all those I have seen in captivity 
most certainly do not appear to be either gen- 
tle or amiable and I have personally known 
of many instances where they have shown a 
decided disposition to fly at human beings. 

For instance, Eng shows every sign of a 
vicious and fierce nature and, when I have 
been standing in front of his cage, has opened 
his mouth to its widest extent, hissed and 
sworn at me, while his cruel eyes have 
changed color in the most curious and fer- 
ocious manner. Sometimes his face will 
wrinkle up into a snarl, or sneer, and then he 
will come forward, sometimes with a quiet, 
stealthy tread; at others with a marvelously 
quick, light spring; but there is always the 




Mme. Morelli and Her Celebrated Leopard Car- 
touche, who is Noted for His Savage ness and 
Untamability 



A FEW BIG CATS 39 

same inclination which no one can doubt who 
>vatches him carefully; his wish is evidently 
to spring at me and not with any purpose of 
play, either. His deadly intention is written 
plainly on his evil face, and his throaty 
breathing each time he is baffled proves his 
keen disappointment in not being able to ac- 
complish it. 

There is a leopard in the Bostock Animal 
Show called Cartouche, who is noted for his 
savageness and untamability, although he has 
been performing for years and is considered 
one of the best in the exhibition. He has 
nearly killed his trainer three or four times, 
and yet Madame Morrelli is still fearless of 
him,* dares and defies him, and even consents 
to be photographed with him facing and 
sitting close to her, one of the most daring 
and risky things anyone can do. 

It will be noticed that she has her right 
arm stretched out behind his neck, and that 
her whip, her only means of defense, is in 
her left hand. One stroke from the paw of 
this animal and she would have no time 



40 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

either to transfer the whip to the other hand, 
or to keep him off in any other way. And 
yet she runs just such risks as this every day 
of her life, and is still living to tell the tale ! 



CELEBRATED BEARS 



CHAPTER III. 

CELEBRATED BEARS. 

Pete, Russian Brown Bear ; Caesar, Black 
Bear ; Snow, Polar Bear ; Czar, Syrian 
Bear. 

IN the Buffalo Zoo some few years ago 
there were two Russian brown bears, both 
extremely fine specimens and both wonder- 
fully gentle and good tempered. The following 
story is another instance, I think, of how very 
uncertain the dispositions of the wild animals 
are. and how some trivial incident will often 
not only bring out all their viciousness and 
savagery, but permanently alter their dis- 
position. 

One spring Dr. Crandall, the Superin- 
tendent, had a gang of iron wire fencers put- 
ting a six-foot fence round the top of the 
bear pit in place of the three-foot fence which 
had been there when he took charge of the 



44 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Zoo. Pete had on several occasions shown a 
disposition to be restless and it was thought 
better to take every precaution. 

Among the workmen employed to make this 
fence round the bear pit was an Italian, 
Angelo Natalio, who, anxious to show his fel- 
low workmen how brave and fearless he was, 
climbed down from the top of the pit and 
stood on what are known as the "safety 
hooks," which are iron hooks turned down- 
wards to prevent any chance of the bears get- 
ting out. When standing on these hooks he 
would tease the bears, a most dangerous and 
foolhardy thing to do. 

As he was doing this one day Dr. Crandall 
came along and at once ordered him up, tell- 
ing him if he ever found him there again he 
would send him going for good. At the same 
time Dr. Crandall called the attention of the 
contractor to the matter, telling him that 
the men did these things at their own risks, 
that there was not the slightest need of any 
of them going down there and that the 
authorities would not be responsible. The 



CELEBRATED BEARS 45 

contractor realized the danger, and warned 
all the men that no such foolishness must 
occur again. 

And yet at four o'clock that same after- 
noon, when the Superintendent was standing 
in front of the bear pit, he heard a wild yell 
of pain and terror, and, looking up, saw the 
Italian standing on the same hooks again, but 
this time with one foot drawn between the 
hooks by Pete, the big Russian brown bear, 
who had fastened his claws into the man's 
boot. The bear then pulled the Italian's foot 
through the hooks, took the foot in his* mouth 
and sat down, the man being dragged finally 
through, yelling at the top of his voice, and 
nearly mad with terror. 

The police were summoned and ran to the 
top of the den with guns. One policeman 
promptly fired and shot the bear in the hump, 
whereupon Pete promptly picked the man up 
in his mouth and carried him in front of the 
cage, where Dr. Crandall was trying to unlock 
the gate. By putting the man down just in 
front of the gate the bear completely bar- 



46 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ricaded the gateway, making it impossible for 
anyone to get in. 

Thereupon Dr. Crandall rushed up to the 
top of the pit, took a gun from the police- 
man, and shot the bear three times, each time 
sending him down with a thud, but the bear 
only stayed down for about twenty seconds 
each time. By this time the Italian had 
pulled himself away from the bear and tried 
to get away from the cage by climbing over 
the hooks, but got caught by the hooks. By 
this time Dr. Crandall had got into the cage 
itself and drove and fought the bears back 
into their sleeping dens, while the policemen 
and keepers took the man out and sent him 
to the hospital. The man was in the bear 
pit not more than five minutes altogether, 
but stayed in the hospital nearly five months, 
and it was a question for awhile as to whethet* 
he would live or not. 

From this time Pete was a different animal. 
Savage, fierce, vindictive, he seemed to be on 
the lookout for any opportunity to vent his 
evil nature upon some one; some time after 



CELEBRATED BEARS 47 

this, when being fed, he caught the keeper's 
hand and Bit it completely off at the wrist! 
Since then Pete has been kept in solitary con- 
finement, for not once since the episode with 
the Italian has he ever shown the slightest 
signs of gentleness or amiability. Whether 
the three bullets, which are still in his body, 
have anything to do with this, of course, we 
do not know, but there is a possibility. 

This sudden change of disposition in wild 
animals is constantly showing itself. In the 
New York Zoological Park there are three 
Syrian bears in one den. These are consid- 
ered, in some ways, the most amiable of the 
bear tribe, and it is generally Syrian bears 
whom the Italians and Frenchmen train to 
dance at the end of a pole. The big bear in 
this den, Czar, had always been considered a 
fairly good tempered bear, but quite suddenly 
in May of 1906 Czar nearly killed his keeper 
and since then has given many indications of 
viciousness. 

Caesar is a black bear in this same park 
who has quite a history. He was presented to 



48 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

a hotel keeper on Long Island when quite a 
cub and brought up as a pet. He was treated 
so much like one of the family that a chair 
was always set for him at table and he was 
made to sit up at meals and behave like a 
gentleman. He was allowed to run about the 
house and grounds, and was friendly with all 
the people he met. But in time, when he 
grew bigger, the guests began to object to 
being met at the threshold by a large black 
bear and, when Caesar began to grow some- 
what rough in his ways and capers, it was 
considered wise to put him away before he 
did any damage. 

Accordingly, a letter was sent to the Di- 
rector of the New York Zoological Park of- 
fering a young black bear as a gift if he 
would send and fetch it away. Thinking it 
was only a small bear, the keeper journeyed 
down to Long Island with an ordinary sized 
packing case and found the bear was nearly 
twice the size of the packing case ! Nothing 
else could be found large enough to hold 
Caesar, so the keeper had to go all the way 



CELEBRATED BEARS 49 

back and fetch another box. Then Caesar was 
led out of the shed by one ear, walked calmly 
into' the wooden case, and journeyed to the 
Park, which has since been his home. 

He seemed a little puzzled by his relatives 
at first and did not understand their rough 
way of handling him. It was feared for a 
while that the other bears would kill him in 
their fights. But one morning when another 
bear presumed to give Caesar a little reproof 
in the shape of a knock down, Caesar sud- 
denly gave a growl, went for the other bear, 
and taught him such a lesson that he did not 
forget it. The rest of the bears seemed duly 
impressed, and the keepers then knew there 
was no need to trouble about him. He has 
always been considered one of the most good 
tempered and amiable bears in the Park, and 
yet one day when his keeper was cleaning 
out his cage, Caesar suddenly went behind 
him and, without the slightest provocation, bit 
him in the neck ! 

The most interesting bear at present, how- 
ever, in the New York Zoological Park is 



50 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Snow, the big Polar bear, who killed the mate 
provided for him, as Lopez the jaguar did 
his, but in a totally different way. Snow had 
lived alone for some time. He is a fine speci- 
men, standing about fifty inches in height, 
seven feet two inches in length, and weigh- 
ing about 800 pounds. He had always ap- 
peared a normally dispositioned Polar bear, 
and had lived a seemingly contented life. 

But last spring (1907) when Mr. Hagen- 
beck brought over a fine young female Polar 
bear for the Park, he suggested at once that 
she be put with Snow as a companion. Mr. 
Hornaday, the Director, did not at all ap- 
prove of this suggestion. Polar bears are 
costly animals and, he concluded, after his 
experience with Lopez, the jaguar, it would 
be better to let the young Polar bear live by 
herself than run any chance of being killed 
almost as soon as she arrived. 

Many arguments and pursuasions were 
brought to bear upon him, while Mr. Hagen- 
beck assured him there was not the slightest 
danger of Snow killing the young bear; he 




g 3h 

N m 



> £ 






Celebrated beaks 51 

would naturally be only too pleased to have 
her for a companion, especially after having 
been alone such a long time. For some time 
Mr. Hornaday held out. From personal ex- 
perience he had Learned that it was impossible 
to form any true estimate of what a wild 
animal will, or will not, do. Many cases 
were cited to make him partly alter his 
opinion and after some time he consented to 
allow the newcomer to be put close to the den 
of Snow just to see what he would do. 

Snow did just what Mr. Hagenbeck said 
he would do. He was undoubtedly extremely 
pleased to see a relative of his own once more, 
came forward at once and sniffed noses in the 
most friendly manner, put his paw through 
the bars into the young bear's cage and play- 
fully patted her. The young Polar bear also 
seemed pleased and was evidently most 
anxious to get into his den, which was very 
much bigger than her cramped quarters, and 
which she could see contained a nice large 
swimming pool, always a great need and lux- 
ury to bears, but especially Polar bears. 



62 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

But still Mr. Hornaday held out ; it seemed 
a pity to run any risk of losing such a valu- 
able newcomer. But the two bears grew more 
and more friendly as the days went by and 
when, after a whole week nothing but friend- 
liness had been noticed, he finally gave his 
consent, but still with reluctance, to put the 
two bears together. 

Accordingly, one day, the gate of Snow's 
den was opened, the shifting door, of the 
young Polar bear's cage was lifted up and 
she walked through into her new home. Mr. 
Hornaday was still nervous about it and half 
expected even then that the bears would dis- 
agree, but Snow came forward and met his 
new partner, sniffed noses again, and both 
appeared interested and friendly. And then, 
still in a casual, half friendly manner, Snow 
caught hold of the newcomer by the throat 
and held on, seemingly half in play and half 
in earnest. 

He let go after a few minutes, and the 
young bear seemed a trifle puzzled as to what 
he was going to do next. Then, in a rougher 



CELEBRATED BEARS 53 

manner, he suddenly caught hold of his new 
friend again, and this time began to shake 
and wrestle with her. It was difficult to make 
out as first what he really meant, but the 
impression he gave was that, probably be- 
cause he had been alone so long, he wanted a 
good wrestling bout just for exercise. But 
when this wrestling got too rough and it was 
seen that Snow had his teeth fastened deeply 
in the young bear's throat, Mr. Hornaday 
picked up a large board and pushing it in 
against the bars, rammed the side. of Snow 
with all his might, helped by the others pres- 
ent. 

But it made no more impression than a fly 
on a wall, and Snow still held on. A few 
minutes after when the onlookers stopped 
prodding him, he dropped his companion of 
his own accord, and meandered round his den 
as if he had forgotten all about her ! It was 
then seen that the young bear was bleeding 
a little, and it was considered advisable to 
separate them. But before this could be done, 
Snow again caught the young bear by the 



54 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

throat, and, although he seemed in no particu- 
lar rage or passion, still it was easy to see 
that he now meant business. 

Accordingly, one of the keepers, Thomas 
Mulvihill, entered the den with a thick coil 
of rope, and as soon as Snow once more let 
the young bear go, he tried to lassoo him and 
fortunately caught him round the neck the 
very first time. Mr. Hornaday, Mr. Mitchell, 
Dr. Blair, Mr. Sanborn, and all those present 
then had a strenuous time, one lot holding 
back Snow, while another lot got out the 
young bear. But in spite of every attention, 
to the sorrow of all, and to the bitter regret 
and disappointment of Mr. Hornaday, the 
young bear died. 

On examination she did not appear to be 
badly bitten or torn, but it was found that 
Snow had severely lacerated the right jugular 
vein, and that the lungs were congested, 
caused by internal hemorrhage. Snow gave 
not the slightest indication of missing his new 
companion, or of being the least put out by 
these occurrences. Beyond having a few 



CELEBRATED BEARS 55 

blood spots on his white fur, he seemed, in 
appearance and manner, exactly the same as 
he has always been since his arrival in the 
Park some few years ago. 

I think the most curious and in many ways 
interesting thing about this affair was the half 
playful, half indifferent manner in which it 
was done. There was no exhibition of tem- 
per or rage, no particular viciousness, and 
also no special pleasure in the wrestling which 
took place. Lopez, the jaguar, went at things 
in a totally different way. The moment his 
companion entered his cage, he showed in 
every quiver of his nervous, muscular body, 
his intense passion and resentment, and also 
his fierce determination to kill his mate. But 
Snow seemed undecided from the first as to 
what he should really do. 

It was evident that he did not particularly 
want a companion and yet it also seemed evi- 
dent that he was tired of being alone and 
was glad of a chance to wrestle and play. 
But the result was the same, and to those who 
have to consider the vast expenses of a 



56 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

large Zoological Garden, this is an extremely 
important matter. Snow will now pass the 
rest of his life in the same manner as Lopez. 
He will live in solitary confinement, but 
whether this will affect him in any way we 
are not capable of finding out. I watched him 
a short time ago, pacing up and down his den 
and occasionally going in and out of his water 
pool. As far as I, or any other human being, 
could tell he was perfectly contented and 
happy, and we know enough to be able to 
surmise that he was certaintly not thinking or 
troubling about any of his past deeds. 

A large Polar bear once made his escape 
from the London Zoological Gardens and gave 
those in attendance a lively time. He was 
finally caught with a rope round the neck, 
when he promptly climbed over a fence and, 
on jumping down the other side, nearly 
choked himself; as the rope broke at that 
moment he saved his life, but was again free. 
The noose of rope was still round his neck, 
but he got that off with his claws, shook him- 
self, and trotted off briskly in another di- 



CELEBRATED BEARS 57 

rection. At last, after about three hours' 
hard -work, he was driven into the passage 
leading into the big Carnivora dens and was 
secured once more. 

One of the most interesting little stories 
I have ever heard about a young Polar bear 
was given me by Dr. Crandall, Superintend- 
ent of the Buffalo Zoo. A little Polar bear 
cub was born in the Zoo— a most rare thing 
— and was at once discarded by the mother, 
who refused to have anything to do with it. 
As the thermometer happened to be nine de- 
grees below zero, it was in a terrible plight. 
However," about twenty minutes after its 
birth, after the most careful watching and 
maneouvring, Dr. Crandall, with much dif- 
ficulty managed to get hold of it, and found 
that it was nearly stiff with cold. He wrapped 
it up in some wool, took it to his house, put 
it at once into a hot water bath, and after 
thirty minutes finally got the heart and lungs 
to work. For three whole days and nights 
he hardly left it, but with cotton-wool, hot 
water bags, and a hygienic nursing feeding 



58 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

bottle, kept it alive, and for a while much 
hoped he would save its life. But it was all 
of no use. The poor little creature seemed 
fairly well the first two days but on the third 
day dropped and finally died. This was un- 
doubtedly the youngest Polar bear ever kept 
in captivity. 



ELEPHANTS 



CHAPTER IV. 
ELEPHANTS 

Jumbo, Coco, Gypsy, Bobby, Zebi, Gunda. 

THE name of Jumbo is so well known 
and so much has been written about 
him that it is only necessary to give a resume 
of his history in this book. 

In June, 1865, the London Zoological So- 
ciety received, in exchange for a rhinosceros, 
from the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, an Afri- 
can Elephant, named Jumbo. 

At the time of his arrival in London, Jum- 
bo stood only about four feet high, but was 
in *such a miserable, filthy, and pitiable con- 
dition that it was feared for some time that 
he would not live. At that time Mr. A. D. 
Bartlett, who was the Superintendent of the 
Gardens, seeing the necessity for having all 
his instructions carried out faithfully if he 
wanted to keep the poor creature alive, 
turned him over to a keeper called Matthew 



62 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Scott, and a terrible time Scott had to get 
the poor animal even into decent condition. 

In the first place the work of removing 
even part of the long accumulated filth on 
his skin was a tedious and revolting process 
and the animal's feet were found to be mis- 
shapen and sore for want of attention. 

But as soon as he began to get better, Jum- 
bo 's spirits returned, and then it was found 
necessary to control him; he was so high 
spirited and daring that at last the Superin- 
tendent and Scott decided that he must be 
taught to obey before he did any damage. 
So one day the two men each took hold of an 
ear of Jumbo and holding him in this manner 
gave him a good sound thrashing. For a time 
Jumbo resisted, but when he found he was 
getting the worst of it he lay down with a 
little submissive cry and after that did what 
he was told, and became a good tractable ele- 
phant. 

Jumbo stayed contentedly in the Zoological 
Gardens for eighteen years and was then 
about twenty-two years old and stood eleven 



ELEPHANTS 63 

and a half feet high. But then he began to 
show signs of going "bad" and caused a vast 
amount of trouble and anxiety, especially to 
those who had charge of him. He tore down 
the doors and walls of his house, drove his 
big tusks through the iron plates and splint- 
ered the strong beams of wood as if they had 
been matches; after some anxious months it 
was finally decided to sell him. The only 
man who could do anything with him at this 
time was Matthew Scott, who had been with 
him ever since he entered the Gardens. 

Bitter disappointment was felt among 
thousands of children who had grown to love 
the elephant and to look forward to rides on 
his back and a great controversy arose in all 
the London newspapers over this animal. 
And just while all this excitement was going 
on, a letter came from the late P. T. Barnum, 
of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, asking 
whether the London Zoological Society would 
sell the big African elephant Jumbo? After 
consideration, Jumbo was sold to Mr. Barnum 
"as he stood" for $10,000. This meant that 



64 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

all expenses of removal, etc., were to be de- 
frayed by Mr. Barnum. 

But when it eame to taking Jumbo away, 
he had something to say about the matter ; he 
absolutely refused to go into any box or crate 
provided for him. Scott was broken-hearted 
at. the thought of parting from Jumbo, and 
it was thought this had something to do with 
it, for he certainly did not try to insist on the 
animal leaving him. Finally, Mr. Barnum 
made a very liberal offer to Scott if he would 
accompany the animal to America, and the 
London Zoological Society promised to keep 
his position open for him up to a given time. 

And so midst the most extraordinary ex- 
citement among the London people, who went 
to the Gardens in thousands to see their old 
favorite before he left them, Jumbo was 
finally induced by Scott to go into the huge 
wheeled crate which had been made specially 
for him, and sailed for America, accompa- 
nied by his faithful keeper Matthew Scott. 
On his arrival in New York he created almost 
as much excitement as in London, for he had 



ELEPHANTS 65 

been advertised tremendously for some time 
previously. Thousands of people went to the 
docks to meet him in the hope of at least 
seeing him disembark, but there was nothing 
to be seen but a huge packing ease, or what 
looked like it, and he was taken straight to 
Madison Square Garden (the old building), 
and it was here that his feet touched Ameri- 
can soil for the first time. 

Twice daily the circus was thronged with 
people from all parts of the country, all 
seemingly possessed of the desire to see the 
huge animal that had caused so much trouble 
and excitement in Europe. Jumbo's remain- 
ing history in America is well known, his 
period of tremendous popularity, his ab- 
normal success as a financial speculation, and 
then his most unfortunate killing by a loco- 
motive when crossing the lines on a railway. 

And when he died poor old Matthew Scott 
nearly died too from sheer grief and sorrow. 
I have met this Matthew Scott and know him 
very well. He is still with the Barnum and 
Bailey Circus and I have had many an inter- 



66 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

esting talk with him. He is a small man, 
wiry and nervous, and a great talker; but no 
matter what different subject one starts, he 
invariably comes round to the one favorite 
subject, "Jumbo," on which he is never tired 
of talking. 

"I seen him last night as plain as plain," 
he told me the last time I was talking to him. 
"He comes to me every night now. Jumbo 
do, and I am always thinking on him, and I 
'spect he knows it." 

By which it will be seen that Scott is be- 
ginning to show his years. He is quite an 
old man now and very feeble. He has just 
one or two gentle animals to take care of and 
this year, when the Barnum and Bailey 
Circus came to New York to start its summer 
season, Matthew Scott was left in winter 
quarters, as it was considered that he was 
not now fit to bear the hardships and tiring 
journeys on the road. 

Another interesting elephant in this same 
show is Gypsy, the oldest elephant there. Her 
trunk is paralyzed, so that she is unable to 



ELEPHANTS 67 

put it into her mouth, but she will not allow 
anyone to feed her, and now has an ingenious 
way of taking up the hay in the tip of her 
trunk and throwing it in her mouth with a 
dextrous jerk. Mr. George Bates, her trainer, 
told me Gypsy has many privileges now which 
the other elephants are not allowed on ac- 
count of her age and infirmity. She was the 
late Mr. James Bailey's favorite elephant. 

Columbia is the first elephant to have been 
born in captivity and, although of the gentler 
sex, has been provided with an iron chain, 
enclosed in rubber, which continually encir- 
cles her huge body. This is because on some 
occasions she shows a good deal of vicious- 
ness,,and it is necessary to control her. Her 
mother, Babe, stands close by. Babe's mate, 
Mandarin, went "bad" on his first arrival at 
this circus, and was so dangerous that he was 
choked to death as the quickest and surest 
method of preventing any dangerous accident. 

Mr. George Conklin, the manager of the 
menagerie— who, by the way, is the first man 
who ever drove a wagon drawn by a pair of 



68 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

oxen over Brooklyn Bridge— told me that he 
had witnessed many dangerous things with 
elephants, but that this getting Mandarin out 
of the way was one of the most terrible 
things he had ever seen. 

But to me, the most interesting elephant in 
the Barnum and Bailey show is Coco, the 
smallest one of the whole lot. Coco is, and 
always has been known as one of the most 
tiresome, mischievous, and restless animals 
among all the three large herds of elephants 
in this show. Coco was born in the circus 
and, from the very first few months of his 
life, attracted attention not only on account of 
his constant mischief, but also because he is 
one of the most affectionate and amusing ele- 
phants in captivity. When quite a tiny baby 
he showed a great love of investigation, espe- 
cially in those things which did not concern 
him in any way and which he ought to have 
let alone. 

The first time he was considered old enough 
to be fastened up with the herd of young ele- 
phants which were being taught to perform 



ELEPHANTS 69 

in public, Coco began to find out about his 
surroundings. His flexible little trunk was 
here, there, and everywhere, and, although he 
would always at once lower it meekly at hear- 
ing the word "Coco" called out, he would 
do exactly the same thing again as soon as 
his keeper's attention was turned away from 
him. 

He began one day to pull down the gas 
pipes over his head and, when those had been 
put to rights again, he tried to investigate 
the electric light by drawing the bulb over to 
his mouth with his trunk, and was barely 
saved from crushing it, and probably causing 
his own death. 

Just round a corner of the wall where he 
and his companions are usually fastened up 
underneath Madison Square Garden is a 
water faucet where the men get the drinking 
water for the elephants, and for washing the 
floor. One night when, after the perform- 
ance, the lights had been put out with the ex- 
ception of one or two, and all the men had 
gone but the watchmen, Coco was very quiet 



70 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

and thoughtful, and, as all the elephants 
seemed quiet and comfortable, the watchman 
settled himself comfortably in his chair and 
began to doze, occasionally opening his eyes 
just to see that everything was all right and 
to call out to the various elephants by name 
if they seemed likely to be restless or about to 
do any mischief. 

Suddenly the watchman was conscious of 
a curious sound like running water and, after 
listening a moment looked down on the floor 
and was surprised to see the floor swimming 
in water and a stream pouring from the 
faucet. As at that moment Coco ? s trunk went 
round the corner the watchman knew at once 
what had happened. Coco had turned on the 
water faucet and flooded the place. It took 
about an hour with a lot of men to get the 
animals dry and comfortable once more, and 
Coco was made to understand, by having his 
trunk rapped smartly every time he attempted 
to put his trunk round the faucet, that he 
was not to do that again. 

Another bad habit of Coco's was to sud- 



ELEPHANTS 71 

denly let forth a roar or bellow, without the 
least cause. When one elephant does this 
there is always the danger of a stampede 
among the others, for elephants are extremely 
nervous and very easily excited. On more 
than one occasion Coco has been the means of 
causing a stampede among the elephants in 
this manner which is a serious thing. 

On one occasion, in the early morning, 
Coco was found to be in a particularly bad 
mood. He was restless and irritable, tried to 
quarrel with his next-door neighbor, tried to 
pull the men's coats off with his trunk, and 
then sent forth such a roar, once, twice, three 
times, that one by one all his companions 
topk it up ; then the larger herds heard it 
and promptly followed suit, and in far less 
time than it takes to write it, first one and 
then another broke his chains and all the 
men rushed about doing their best to soothe 
and quiet the animals, for another stampede 
had taken place. 

The most tiresome part of it all was that 
Coco could not be prevailed upon to stop his 



72 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

roaring, but kept it up until the men were 
nearly exhausted trying to quiet the others 
and restore order. When he had given more 
trouble than all the others put together, he 
settled down, ate his breakfast quietly, and 
for weeks afterwards was as good as gold. 

Another time, Mr. Harry Mooney, Coco's 
trainer, prepared to take his elephants into 
the country in winter quarters for awhile. 
It was considered wise, owing to Coco's ter- 
rible habit of either running off suddenly 
and so inducing the others to run also, to 
hobble his feet, and fasten his trunk to his 
front leg with a chain enclosed in a rubber 
tube so that it could not hurt him. 

But Coco strongly objected to this. He 
always disliked restraint of any kind, and 
showed his resentment by squealing and then 
roaring with all his might. Fortunately, the 
others did not respond this time and he was 
finally got out of Madison Square Garden 
safely. But when outside, he found, owing 
to his hobbles, that he could not keep up with 
the other elephants— it was the middle of the 



ELEPHANTS 73 

night and they were all walking — and very- 
soon he was quite a long way behind them all. 

This made him furious and he refused to 
go any further. Lifting up his trunk in de- 
fiance, he roared and squealed, squealed and 
roared, until every elephant in front of him 
joined in and the people asleep in their houses 
woke up in terror and thought the end of the 
world had come. One by one the other ele- 
phants began to run; when Coco saw this 
and realized that he could not run too on ac- 
count of his hobbles, he grew angrier than 
ever. 

Finally he was quieted and the others were 
collected together— all had run in different di- 
rections, being by this time wildly excited— 
and the rest of the journey was performed 
quietly and without any further trouble un- 
til they arrived at their destination, which 
the trainer and his men were only too thank- 
ful to reach, being half dead from exhaustion. 

Now it is not to be wondered at that, after 
a few years of this kind of thing, Coco got 
a bad name. He is not a bad-tempered ele- 



74 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

phant, or a vicious one in any way, but his 
capacity for giving trouble is tremendous. 
Consequently, when a number of things hap- 
pened at one time, one after the other, of 
course, Coco was blamed for them all and very 
nearly lost his life in consequence. 

About two years ago, when the Barnum and 
Bailey Circus had finished its performances 
in Brooklyn, all the trainers prepared to take 
the elephants over to Jersey City, on their 
way to Somerville. They started out one fine 
moonlight night and all went well until they 
arrived at the Brooklyn Bridge, when un- 
fortunately it happened that, just as they 
were all walking quietly and peacefully un- 
der the elevated railway, a train came run- 
ning overhead and the sudden noise above 
them nearly scared the elephants to death. 

With shrieks and trumpeting they started 
off pell mell and it was early morning be- 
fore they were got together once more and 
taken on to the Twenty-third Street Ferry. 
Still rather excited and nervous there was a 
good deal of trouble in getting them on board 



ELEPHANTS 75 

the boats, and when they finally went on, 
they did it with such a sudden rush that fears 
were entertained for a few minutes that they 
would run right through the boat and into 
the river from the end. 

But as soon as they saw the water, the ele- 
phants stopped, drew back as if realizing the 
danger and were quiet the rest of the trip. 

It was at Somerville that Coco nearly lost 
his life through his bad reputation. Just 
before one performance, a storm came up 
quite suddenly. All storms are specially 
dreaded by animal show proprietors, par- 
ticularly on account of the elephants' dread 
of thunder and lightning. So that, needless 
to say, when blinding flashes of lightning were 
followed by deafening crashes of thunder, 
the herd of elephants got wild and excited. 
A fierce, strong wind sprang up and, getting 
under the canvas of the tents, tore it off, 
wrenching the poles out of the ground as 
though they were matches, and unfortunately 
hitting the poor elephants stinging blows 
across the backs with them. 



76 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

With wild trump etings, the elephants tore 
off their chains as though they were cobwebs 
and fled in all directions. It was a great 
wonder that Mr. Bates and Mr. Mooney, with 
the other men, were not trampled to death, 
for the animals were crazy from panic and 
in pain from the blows from the poles. It 
was one of the narrowest escapes they had 
ever had. 

And when it was all over and the animals 
had quieted down, they were in the highest 
state of nervousness and exhaustion from the 
continued frights. For weeks the elephants 
were nervous and unsettled and, at the least 
breeze lifting the flaps of the tents, there 
would come forth a shrill chorus of cries and 
trumpetings; and once when a little piece of 
harmless white rag fluttered round the tent, 
Coco made a great fuss, several of the others 
broke their chains and, for a few moments, 
it was feared there would be another stam- 
pede. 

Several other things happened in the same 
way and, the proprietor having noticed that 



ELEPHANTS 77 

Coco was rather excitable, at last suggested 
that he should be killed; he had caused so 
much trouble already it was unwise to risk 
anything more. For a time it seemed as though 
Coco was doomed, but his trainer was devoted 
to him and explained that lately it had not had 
anything to do with Coco but simply a series 
of accidents ; eventually the proprietor gave in 
and Coco's life was spared. 

And so Coco is still alive, still full of mis- 
chief, restless and fidgetty, but always af- 
fectionate, and ready for strangers and pea- 
nuts or anything else which comes in his way. 
His troubles have not damped his spirits or 
altered him in any way and only last spring, 
when I was talking to his trainer, Coco caught 
hold of the tail of Mr. Mooney's dog with his 
trunk and pulled it! I don't think the dog 
was hurt a bit, but he gave a frightened 
squeak, and I noticed that he was particularly 
careful not to go near Coco again. 

In the Clifton Zoological Gardens, in Bris- 
tol, England, there is an elephant, Zebi, who 
is the oldest inhabitant there and is consid- 



78 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ered by good authorities to be the largest In- 
dian female elephant known. She stands just 
one inch taller than the late Jung Perchard 
of the London Zoological Gardens, England, 
the famous Indian elephant. Zebi is now 
forty-nine years old and has been in the 
Clifton Gardens nearly forty years, having 
been sent there as a gift from the Rajah of 
Mysore. Zebi is noted for her mischievous 
qualities, and many amusing stories are told 
of her, but she is greatly beloved by all the 
visitors and a tremendous favorite with the 
children. 

The Indian elephant, Gunda, in the New 
York Zoological Park, created quite a sensa- 
tion when he first arrived at the Park. Gunda 
was born in 1898, and for eight years lived 
in his wild native home much in the same 
manner as his other brethren. When he was 
captured, after considerable difficulty, he 
was about as wild and savage a specimen as 
could be found anywhere. 

He gave as much trouble as he possibly 
could in every way and in every place. It 



ELEPHANTS 79 

was difficult to get him on board ship ; it was 
just as difficult to keep him there, and far 
more difficult to get him off again. Food 
seemed to have very little attraction for him 
and kindness was of no use. When he was 
finally brought to the New York Zoological 
Park, he was morose, savage, sulky, and vin- 
dictive to a degree and no one in the Park 
could do a thing with him. 

He trumpeted his hate and his discontent 
at all the keepers, at all the visitors, and at 
every animal in the house that came with- 
in his range of vision. Special precautions 
were taken by the Director with regard to his 
house. The walls were tested, the strongest 
sheet iron procured to line them, and extra 
bars put in front of his den to protect visitors. 
And yet, in spite of all these precautions this 
did not prevent him from pushing down the 
back wall one day and entering the cage of 
the Eland next door! But after awhile he 
became quieter and more contented, and then 
it was decided one day to take him for a walk 
in the Park before the public was admitted, 
in order to give him some exercise. 



80 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

He behaved very well for a time and seemed 
to enjoy the fresh air and his walk, while the 
keepers never took their eyes off him, in case 
he should alter his mind. And alter his mind 
he did, for in the sudden way in which he is 
in the habit of doing things, he broke away 
and, with a little trumpet and a whisk of his 
ridiculous tail, he was off round the Park 
for a scamper at his own sweet will. 

He tipped over several things in his way, 
and kept up such a swinging pace that the 
keepers were streaming with perspiration and 
half dead with fatigue before anything could 
be done to stop him. When he was finally got 
back into his house once more, it was decided 
that he had had enough exercise for awhile. 
But in time Gunda settled down and even 
allowed himself to be taught tricks, although 
he resented at first having his front legs tied 
and his hind leg pulled to make him kneel 
down. In time he decided to do this without 
either, which was just what his trainer 
wanted. 

Then he was taught to collect pennies, and 



ELEPHANTS 81 

keep a bank of his own, The "bank" is a 
strong wooden box fixed securely over his 
head with the words "ELEPHANT'S 
BANK" painted on it; at the bottom is a 
bell, and this bell Gunda rings every time he 
collects a penny, just as a car conductor rings 
up a fare. At one time it was found that, 
although Gunda had collected a good many 
pennies and rung up the same, the "Bank" 
was empty ! This was curious, because Gunda 
had never been known to make any foolish 
mistakes such as swallowing anything which 
was not eatable. 

But one day when going to brush the dust 
off the top of the dividing wall of Gunda 's 
den, the keeper found a heap of pennies col- 
lected there, and the secret was solved. Why 
he should have decided to put them on the 
wall instead of in the box is not known, but 
it is also curious that, since his hoard of 
money was found and confiscated, Gunda has 
never once put a penny there, but always 
dutifully in the Bank. 

It is a long, long time now since this ele- 



82 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

pliant lias shown the least sign of ill temper 
or moroseness, and now in the summer he 
carries children on his back and seems to en- 
joy it as much as they do. Perhaps it is the 
outdoor life and exercise which he appreciates, 
or it may be the peanuts which he now in- 
vites by putting up his trunk to the little 
passengers on his back, but he is the most 
friendly of all friendly elephants now, and 
will always welcome visitors with a cordial 
invitation to shake hands by lifting up one 
huge foot, which, if somewhat clumsy, is cer- 
tainly kindly and well meant, 

Mr. Frank C. Bostock claims to have in his 
Wild Animal Show the very smallest speci- 
men of an African elephant ever exhibited 
in either Europe or America. It was brought 
over to be the principal feature in the Colon- 
ial Exposition at Nogent S Seine, at 

the conclusion of which it was formally pre- 
sented to the Colonial Minister, Monsieur 
Clementel. M. Clementel was naturally flat- 
tered and pleased, but there could be no doubt 
that he certainly had "an elephant on his 







s 5 



ELEPHANTS 83 

hands"! While deliberating whether he 
should deposit it in either the Jardin d 'Ac- 
climation, or the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, 
Mr. Bostock came forward and offered him 
a large sum of money for it. 

At first M. Clementel would not hear of it, 
but finally, when a good deal of pressure was 
brought to bear, Mr. Bostock became the 
owner of the elephant in miniature, and the 
money realized from the sale of this animal 
was contributed by the Minister of the Colony 
to the employes of the Bureau des Affaires 
des Colonies. The little elephant was about 
eight months old, stood about thirty inches 
high, and weighed about one hundred and 
eighty pounds. 

One other clever elephant not to be for- 
gotten is Sultan, who is noted for his won- 
derful acts of equilibrium in the Barnum and 
Bailey Circus. This animal will stand on its 
fore feet or its hind feet and, while in the 
latter position, hold a little dog on his head, 
another on his left front leg, and a third on 
his right front leg. Elephants and dogs were 



84 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

patiently trained by Herr Novello, who is 
wonderfully gentle with his animals, and yet 
has such marvelous power over them. 

Sultan has strong likes and dislikes, and 
one morning when I was watching him eat 
his breakfast, consisting of an oat and meal 
mash, he filled his trunk with it and then 
calmly blew it all over me, making a queer 
little noise of satisfaction when he had fin- 
ished ! On being told to sing, Sultan will open 
his mouth and make the most weird sounds 
I ever heard, but I have no doubt it is the 
very best he can do in the way of singing. 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 



CHAPTER V. 

SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 

Mesoviro, Rhinosceros; Victoria, Rhinos- 
ceros; Hippo, Hippopotamus. 

SPECIMENS of the African Rhinosceros 
in captivity are so extremely rare that 
an impression existed at one time that it was 
impossible either to obtain them or keep them 
in confinement. But, as far back as 1868, a 
two-horned African Rhinosceros was captured 
in Upper Nubia and sold to the London 
Zoological Society, England, by Carl Hagen- 
beck. 

This wonderful specimen attracted an 
enormous amount of attention at that time 
because it was believed to be the very first 
rhinosceros which had been in Europe since 
the days of the Romans. Consequently, this 
animal was gazed at, wondered at, discussed 
in papers and magazines and drew immense 
crowds from all parts. 



88 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

One of the most interesting rhinosceroses 
in captivity, partly on account of his extreme 
youth, and partly because of his manifold ad- 
ventures before and after his capture, is 
Mesoviro, the baby rhinosceros in the New 
York Zoological Park. His captors gave him 
this African name which means "One who is 
found by the way." Mesoviro was certainly 
"found by the way," and the story of his cap- 
ture is quite exciting. 

An Austrian, named Fleisher, went hunting 
with a small party southeast of the Lake Vic- 
toria Nyanza last July and one day saw a 
female rhinosceros with a very young calf. 
Fleisher had a very small party of natives 
with him and was not by any means well 
equipped, but he determined to get the little 
rhino calf if he died in the attempt. He knew 
full well what an extremely valuable animal 
it would be if he could only get it to the 
coast. 

But the African natives are terribly afraid 
of the rhinosceros and when they saw the Aus- 
trian actually pursuing the rhinosceros and 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 89 

the calf every one of them fled, leaving 
Fleisher alone. After much difficulty and 
one or two narrow escapes, Fleisher succeeded 
in shooting the mother and, rushing forward 
seized the baby rhinosceros. It was only a 
few weeks old, but so wonderfully strong and 
vigorous that it was almost impossible for 
one man to hold it. 

The Austrian, however, was not to be 
daunted, but grasped the calf firmly round 
the neck, which was doubly difficult to hold 
on account of the thickness and slipperiness 
of its skin. The young rhinosceros promptly 
ran off, taking his captor with him, not let- 
ting any little things such as dragging him 
through the thick thorny bushes, with their 
long "bide-a-wee" thorns, stop him. He 
kept this up briskly for half an hour, until 
the Austrian's clothes were torn to ribbons, 
he was terribly torn and scratched and faint 
from exhaustion. But, in spite of all this, 
Fleisher held on desperately until at last the 
calf was so exhausted that he had to partly 
submit to his captor. 



90 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

After awhile the natives returned to see 
what had become of their master and, seeing 
only a young rhinosceros, willingly gave all 
the assistance they could. So stubborn and 
such determined resistance did the little ani- 
mal show, however, that it was found impos- 
sible to either lead or drive him even after 
tying him securely with strong ropes. As no 
coaxing or driving could induce him to move 
a step of his own accord, they tied his legs 
firmly together, thrust a long pole between 
them and, with the young rhinosceros hang- 
ing upside down with his feet in the air, 
carried him a long, tiresome six-days' jour- 
ney of ninety miles. 

It was seen during the first part of the 
journey that the calf's head, hanging down- 
ward in the manner it did, caused him not 
only great discomfort but also made him 
struggle in such a way that there was dan- 
ger of his dying from exhaustion, or killing 
himself by his struggles. So a piece of 
coarse cloth was slung under the pole, ham- 
mock fashion, and, supported in this way, the 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 91 

animal stopped straggling and seemed more 
at Ids' ease. 

A mother rhinosceros gives only a small 
quantity of milk at any time, and when the 
young calf is only a few weeks old it begins 
to eat grass, so the calf was fed all this 
while on unsweetened condensed milk; not 
long afterwards it began to graze. Mesoviro 
was taken to Gkoma, a military station in 
British East Africa, where he remained very 
contentedly for about six weeks. A pool was 
made for him, and in this pool he played 
most of the day, plastering himself all over 
with mud and doing other delightful things 
that only a rhinosceros can appreciate. 

Having been bought as a speculation, at 
the .end of that time he was taken to Sharati, 
and then to Uganda, whence he was conveyed 
on the Uganda Railway to Mombasa on the 
coast. Here at Mombasa, Mr. Tjader, an ama- 
teur explorer and naturalist of New York, 
had just arrived and was present when the 
baby rhinosceros also arrived, Mr. Tjader, 
after seeing the animal, cabled at once to Mr. 



92 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

W. T. Hornaday and was authorized to buy 
the animal for the New York Zoological Park. 
The total cost of this tiny rhinosceros, still 
only an infant, when finally landed in his 
cage at the Park was $4,532. 

Mr. Herbert 0. Lang, a taxidermist for 
the American Museum of Natural History, 
was engaged to take care of the baby animal, 
and took him from Mombasa by steamer to 
Naples, and thence by the White Star Liner 
Cedric to New York. Every care and atten- 
tion was given to the diet and exercise of 
this valuable little animal. The quantity of 
unsweetened condensed milk was increased 
from three cans a day to nine, and before 
very long the rhinosceros calf and Mr. Lang 
were to be seen daily taking vigorous exercise 
between decks, generally covering a distance 
of about five miles a day. 

Mesoviro arrived on the last day of the 
year and, on January 1st, 1907, weighed 235 
pounds and stood 26 inches at the shoulder. 
With Mr. Lang, the young rhinosceros was 
most docile, gentle, and affectionate, but for 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 93 

the first few days in the Park he refused to 
allow a strange keeper to feed him. But he 
seemed to know by that time that the keeper 
was his friend and is now quite contented, 
consumes eleven cans of unsweetened con- 
densed milk a day and all the boiled rice and 
finest clover hay he can get. 

The other rhinosceros in the antelope house 
close to Mesoviro is also an African, and 
curiously enough was captured when three 
months old by the same man who captured 
Mesoviro, and in much the same way. This 
is a female and has been in the Park now 
since June, 1906 ; she is thriving and healthy. 
Her only adventure was when, some time ago, 
having a painful abscess in her jaw, an opera- 
tion was performed, in the middle of which 
she sent everything near her flying. But the 
operation saved her, for she recovered her 
health and spirits and has been perfectly well 
ever since. 

In the Zoological Gardens at Amsterdam, 
there is a pair of the biggest hippopotami I 
have ever seen. They are certainly well taken 



94 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

care of for, besides, having a nice roomy in- 
side house with large bathing tanks, they also 
have an outdoor tank and a large roomy play- 
ground. The Society of Zoology at Antwerp 
is also especially famous for their hippopota- 
mi, and several have been bred there very 
successfully. 

In the Barnum and Bailey Circus there is 
a huge hippopotamus which has been there 
in charge of Mr. George Conklin, the man- 
ager of the menagerie, for nearly twenty 
years. It is quite wonderful to see this ani- 
mal 's docility and tameness. Mr. Conklin can 
make him open his mouth, come forward to be 
scratched on the neck, and other little things 
which are not particularly brilliant but 
which, for a hippopotamus, show great talent. 
His mouth when wide open is like a huge 
cavern, and his cage has to be constantly 
tested on account of his enormous weight. 

In the Zoological Gardens in Hamburg, 
Germany, there is a huge male hippopotamus 
which attracts a great deal of attention, and 
which is noted for his strong likes and dis- 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 95 

likes, in all cases without apparent reason. 
He has taken a great liking for one of his 
keepers and shows it in as intelligent a man- 
ner as it is possible for these ungainly, ex- 
pressionless animals to show anything. But 
for Dr. Bolau, the Superintendent of the 
Gardens, he has nothing but the keenest dis- 
like. He may be ever so placid and quiet, 
but the moment he sees the Superintendent he 
gets wild and fierce, ugly and vindictive; it 
causes much amusement sometimes among the 
visitors to see this curious display of ill tem- 
per for no reason whatever. There is no 
doubt that, if ever Dr. Bolau should be so 
unfortunate as to get in his way unprotected, 
he would surely be killed by this animal. 

One of the most amusing incidents with a 
hippopotamus happened in the London Zoo- 
logical Gardens many years ago. One hot 
day in August the keeper shut the hippopota- 
mus in the house and cleaned out the large 
tank outside, filling it with clean, fresh water. 
When he had finished his day's work, the 
keeper, for some reason or other, forgot, ac- 



96 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

cording to his ufeual custom, to open the door 
of the hippopotamus' house, so that the ani- 
mal could go in and out if he wished. 

In the course of the evening the night 
watchman noticed that the door of the hip- 
popotamus' house was shut and, on going in- 
side, found the big hippopotamus evidently 
suffering from the heat and very anxious to 
get outside. Consequently the watchman was 
told to let the animal into the outside yard 
so that he could go into the water if he wanted 
to. And as soon as the door was opened the 
hippopotamus went straight out and into the 
tank, where he stayed with just the tip of his 
nose out of the water in great content. 

When the keeper returned that night (he 
always slept over the hippopotamus' house), 
he remembered the nice, clean water in the 
tank and that he had shut the hippopotamus 
in the house and forgotten to let him out. As 
it was still very hot he decided to take a bath 
himself and, entering the yard from the out- 
side gate, stripped and took a header into the 
tank. As it happened he plunged straight 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 97 

under the hippopotamus who, scared nearly 
to death at the sudden onslaught, immediately 
plunged down into the water; it would have 
been difficult to tell which was the most ex- 
cited and scared, the keeper or the hippo- 
potamus ! 

There followed what must have been one of 
the most amusing and unique sights on the 
face of the earth. Every time the keeper 
came to the surface and saw the hippopota- 
mus, down he went into the water, and each 
time the hippopotamus saw the splashing of 
the water and the floundering object, he 
promptly went below again. This went on for 
some little time, the keeper watching his op- 
portunity to get out. 

Fortunately he was a good and strong 
swimmer, or it might have fared badly with 
him, for he was getting exhausted. Finally, 
as the animal once more sank down into the 
water, the keeper swam boldly to the edge 
of the tank, scrambled out in double quick 
time, and not waiting to dress tore into the 
house as fast as he could. 



98 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

This old hippopotamus was quite cele- 
brated, as he was in the Zoological Gardens 
for nearly thirty years. At one time he made 
his escape and the way he was induced to 
return to his house was unique. The well- 
known old keeper, Matthew Scott, for some 
unknown reason was an object of intense dis- 
like to this hippopotamus and, in order to 
make the animal go back into his house, Scott 
was ordered to run in front of him, but with 
many precautions about running quickly up 
the steps inside the house where the animal 
would be unable to get him. 

Accordingly, Scott, taking a good long 
start and showing himself to the hippopota- 
mus first, started off, promptly followed by 
the hippo at full swing. Scott is a small 
man, and appeared quite tiny in comparison 
with Obaysch, the huge animal lumbering be- 
hind him. He was followed by the superin- 
tendent and a crowd of keepers, but, as soon 
as the animal had entered the house, he was 
shut in and Scott got down from the other 
side of the steps none the worse for his ad- 



SOME GREAT PACHYDERMS 99 

venture, with the exception of being a little 
breathless. 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 



CHAPTER VI. 
DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN. 

AMONG all my wild animal friends, 
Dohong, the Orang Utan in the New 
York Zoological Park, who died February 
25th, 1907, was one of my greatest favorites. 
We had been friends for nearly four years, 
and our friendship grew firmer as we grew to 
know one -another better. 

It was one of the first opportunities I have 
had to really study an orang utan carefully 
and for so long a time, and it was through- 
out a most interesting one in every way. 

The first time I ever saw Dohong was at a 
time when he had just had a little spar with 
Polly, the chimpanzee, who lived in the same 
cage with him and was his daily companion 
almost up to the time of his death. They 
were always good friends but, like the ma- 
jority of good friends, had their disagree- 



104 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ments occasionally. In this instance Polly 
had decidedly got the best of it — she gen- 
erally does in most matters— and Dohong, 
then not much more than a baby, sat in a 
corner of the cage and glanced furtively at 
Polly as if to see what she was going to do 
next. He took not the slightest notice of 
me, although I tried in every way to at- 
tract his attention. But at that time I did 
not care much; I was thinking of his piti- 
ful little history which Mr. Hornaday, the 
Director of the Park, had just told me : 

About a year before that time, one dark, 
miserable night, there arrived at the New 
York Zoological Park, a mother and infant, 
two orang utans, who had been brought many 
thousands of miles at the cost of much trouble, 
pains, worry, and money. The mother was 
one of the finest specimens of the orang 
ever seen in captivity, but particularly wild 
and savage, fierce, and bitterly angry at her 
wrongs. Her long, red, hairy arms clasped 
tightly to her with true motherly instinct a 
grotesque looking little object, somewhat re- 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 105 

serobling a red spider, who clung desperately 
to his mother's red hair with his long, slim 
fingers and looked at everything and every- 
body in sheer terror. 

His flat, homely little face with it's shiny 
forehead crowned by a ring of red hair, which 
grew upwards as in all his family, contracted 
with all kinds of emotions, and it would have 
been difficult to say which made the most 
hideous grimaces, the mother, who drew her 
long flexible lips in all directions and all 
sorts of contortions, or the infant orang, who 
seemed occasionally to resent his mother's 
very strenuous attentions to himself and gave 
curious little gutteral cries. 

Certainly to strangers, and especially such 
strangers as did not understand these things 
and who had never seen them before, their 
reception, given with the best intentions in 
the world, must have been very terrifying. 
Being pitch dark, it was, of course, necessary 
to have lanterns, and these, carried by the 
keepers and waving to and fro, nearly fright- 
ened the poor orangs to death. Both watched 



106 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

the moving lights with horror written in their 
faces and in their wild eyes, and it was found 
when they were finally in their cage that 
the mother was quivering from head to foot 
with terror and the little one was scarcely 
less scared. 

Everything possible was done to inspire 
the animals with confidence and make them 
comfortable. Being springtime, they were 
put in an outdoor cage, Mr. Hornaday hoping 
that the sight of trees and green grass might 
make them feel more at home. In time, the 
little one became fairly contented, but the 
mother absolutely refused from the very first 
to adapt herself to circumstances, and fought 
fiercely and desperately on every possible oc- 
casion. 

She also refused to touch food until she 
was nearly famished, when she would then 
eat a tiny piece, not nearly enough to nourish 
her sufficiently; but she always tried to bite 
those who gave it to her. She appeared to 
rest neither day or night, and never once 
loosened her hold on her little one. This went 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 107 

on for nearly three months, and great hopes 
were maintained that during the rest of the 
summer she would get more comfortable and 
contented. Instead of this she grew more 
and more emaciated until it was pitiful to 
see her. 

Then it was noticed that the little orang 
was also getting sick and feeble and, when the 
cause was discovered, namely, that he was 
being poisoned by the food caused by the 
mother's fever, it was decided to take him 
away from his mother in order to save his 
life. Needless to say there was a terrible 
scene when the mother and little one were 
parted, and it was feared that the paroxysm 
of rage into which the old orang worked her- 
self would surely end in her death. 

But when this paroxysm was over she 
made no more fuss, gave no other sign that 
she even missed her little one. For a whole 
week she lay just where she had thrown her- 
self after the young orang had been taken 
from her, and her eyes, always on the watch, 
were the only parts of her body which moved. 



108 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

It was deemed dangerous to attempt to move 
her for the strength of an orang is difficult 
to conceive, especially a mother orang near 
death. Also it frequently happens among 
many wild animals that a fierce paroxysm of 
rage or strength seizes them just at the last, 
and great care is necessary. 

But at the end of the week she died quietly 
and peacefully, on the very spot where she 
had thrown herself a week previously. And 
meanwhile, those in authority at the Park, 
and the keepers, were having an anxious time 
of it with the little orang. For two weeks he 
was so desperately ill that he hovered be- 
tween life and death, and hopes of saving 
him were practically given up. 

Warm milk was given to him, a few tea- 
spoonfuls at a time, at regular intervals. 
After a time a tiny piece of fruit, such as a 
banana or orange was given to him, then a 
little boiled rice was mixed in his milk, and 
so on, until at last the little fellow lost his 
weak, feeble look, brightened up, began to 
grow active and strong, and finally developed 
into a fine healthy specimen. 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 109 

And this was Dohong. As I watched him 
that first morning it was difficult to realize 
that he had been such a little feeble creature. 
His keeper, James Reilly, showed me two iron 
staples which he had easily pulled out of the 
wooden partitions, and which had been used 
to support his gymnasium apparatus. He 
could not tell whether this had been done dur- 
ing the quarrel with Polly or not, but it was 
undoubtedly Dohong who had done it. 

It turned out that the cause of the quarrel 
that morning had been a small piece of ba- 
nana which had in some way been left over 
from their last meal. Polly decided to have 
it and Dohong also seemed to have a wish for 
it. So far Polly still had the banana and, 
although evidently not hungry enough to eat 
it, had no intention of giving it up to Dohong. 

So Dohong sat still, keeping his quiet eyes 
fixed on Polly and the piece of banana. Pres- 
ently, as though to tantalize him, Polly put 
the banana down on the floor and seemed to 
forget all about it— until Dohong in a seem- 
ingly unconscious manner put one long red 



110 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

arm out and moved it slowly towards the 
tempting morsel. Then, just as hib hand al- 
most touched it, although she was apparently 
looking the other way, Polly suddenly picked 
it up again, and Dohong, just as indifferently, 
picked up a piece of straw from the very spot 
on which the banana had been lying a moment 
before. This happened no less than three or 
four times, and it is difficult to say which 
looked the most indifferent, or acted in the 
most unconscious manner. It was the most 
remarkable exhibition I have ever seen. 

And then Polly suddenly got tired of it, 
and threw herself into a violent fit of rage, a 
little habit of hers when things do not go just 
as she wants them to. She made hideous 
faces by drawing back her flexible long lips 
and showing her teeth, thumped her hands on 
the floor of her cage in exactly the same man- 
ner as a man would thump his fist on a table 
when excited; threw herself on her back and 
screamed in such a shrill, ear-splitting voice 
that my nead rang with the jar of it. 

But the funniest part was to come. Dohong 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 111 

watched her quietly and silently for awhile, 
and then his forehead puckered up as though 
the noise jarred his nerves. He appeared 
worried when she kept up this performance 
in spite of all her keepers could say, and 
then, as though by a sudden thought, when 
Polly had worked herself up into a perfect 
frenzy, he got up, walked over to her on his 
feet and knuckles, and, with a peculiar little 
gutteral sound, hit her deliberately on the 
side of the head. And as she stopped scream- 
ing for a moment to put her hands to her 
head— I have no doubt an orang utan can 
give a good thumping blow — he calmly picked 
up the piece of banana and ate it! 

I was much astonished at that time to see 
this performance of one ape hitting another 
on the head, but I have since seen others do 
it frequently. For instance, Polly, who is 
now in a cage with another chimpanzee, a 
blackfaced one, very often gets hit on the 
head in this same way by her companion, 
Soko. And Polly always deserves all she gets, 
for she has a frightful temper, dn spite of 



112 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

her many little coaxing ways. But she has 
been rather delicate and, accordingly, as her 
two keepers, who are devoted to her, admit 
themselves, has been dreadfully spoiled. She 
wants all the attention, and even to speak 
to her keepers arouses all her flagrant jeal- 
ousy. 

In time Dohong knew me very well indeed 
and I fancied was pleased to see me. But 
orangs are certainly not demonstrative in any 
way, and he was always very quiet about 
it. One reason he liked to see me was prob- 
ably because he got to know that my presence 
generally meant that his keeper would take 
me behind the cage, and then take him out for 
a few minutes, and perhaps carry him to a 
side window and let him look out; this was 
a great treat. He loved that window, and he 
loved to put his long arms round his keeper's 
neck, and cling closely to him. He was a 
most affectionate animal, and I have never 
seen two men more devoted to their charges 
than Dohong 's keepers were to him. 

He never liked me when I wore furs; per- 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAK 113 

haps, in some way, the fur suggested an 
enemy, although of course he had left the 
woods when quite a tiny baby. But it meant 
that, if I wanted him to be friendly with me 
and shake hands, I must leave my furs in 
the keepers' room. His hand-shake too, was 
quite a study. His tremendously long fingers 
would close right round my hand in a casual, 
loose, indifferent manner, with no particular 
warmth or friendly greeting. I could not 
help wishing one day that he would show a 
little more animation and warmth in his greet- 
ing, for I much dislike a limp shake of the 
hand. 

And one day I had my wish, for suddenly 
I felt those long thin fingers tighten and 
tighten, and the grip was so unexpected and 
hard that I realized what a truly terrible 
grip it would be if he really wished to do me 
harm. For his strength at times astonished me. 

When he was only about two and a half 
years old, I went into the keepers' room one 
day to see Dohong perform his many table 
accomplishments. He did every thing very 



114 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

nicely, each time watching Polly as if to see 
how she did it. But his keeper was not satis- 
fied with him, for he would insist each time 
his cup was empty, on turning it upside down 
on his flat nose, and then making grimaces 
which meant that he had not had enough. 
The bananas were covered over with a cloth, 
but when the keeper's back was turned the 
cloth was off in the twinkling of an eye, and 
the banana was not to be seen. 

I watched the difference in the two ani- 
mals. Polly, quick, sharp, alert, her sleek 
black hair parted neatly in the middle, her 
large, wide ears, and her quick, bright eyes 
glancing in all directions; Dohong, his red 
hair growing upwards and forming a ring 
round his head, his tiny and well shaped ears, 
his calm, steady eyes; quiet, reserved, digni- 
fied, he did not lose sight of anything that 
was going on, especially me, whom he always 
seemed to regard as a sort of curiosity. They 
only resembled one another in their flat noses, 
their long, wide, mobile upper lips, their long 
arms and their muscular strength. 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 115 

And then, the meal or exhibition being 
over, one keeper took Polly back to the cage 
—it was summer time, or they would not have 
been allowed out for a moment— and the 
other prepared to take Dohong. 

But, quiet as Dohong always was, he was 
wonderfully quick in his movements and, be- 
fore the keeper could get his arms round him, 
he jumped off his chair and was up at the 
top of the steam pipe almost before we could 
breathe. In vain Mr. Eeilly talked to him 
and coaxed him to come down; Dohong liked 
the pipe evidently, coiled his legs round it, 
put one long arm round it, and waved the 
other to and fro, whether in play or defiance, 
I cannot say. 

And whether this ape realized it or not I 
do not know, but while he was up there he 
had the advantage of his keeper in every way. 
If he had been on the floor, his chair, or even 
the table, it would have been an easy matter 
to take him up. But let an orang get above 
you and coil his legs and arms round any 
firm object, and no one man's strength, or 



116 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

even that of a dozen could pull him down, 
against his wish. You might pull the pipe 
itself down, but not the orang alone, for his 
strength is truly prodigious. Only a few 
weeks before Dohong 's last illness, he pulled 
rivetted iron staples out of their settings, bent 
and pushed aside the extra iron bars of his 
cage, and did other things which not only 
caused those in charge to consider seriously, 
but to wonder to what degree his strength 
would eventually develop? 

In this instance, Dohong finally allowed him- 
self to be taken back to his cage on Polly be- 
ing brought back and one keeper goint in front 
with her, when Dohong meekly followed. The 
affection between these two animals was one of 
the most wonderful things I have ever seen. 
The manner in w T hich they always appeared to 
think of one another, the curious code of sig- 
nals they employed in order to make one an- 
other understand what was going on when they 
were occasionally separated from one another, 
makes one wonder whether after all, Darwin 
was not right in some of his theories ? 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 117 

At^one time some carpentering was being 
done to Dohong's cage — he was always tear- 
ing down something or other— and he evi- 
dently strongly objected to the hammering, 
judging by the way in which he wrinkled up 
his brows, put his hands to his head as i£ 
suffering from a headache, and so forth. 
Finally, he thumped at the wooden partition 
which separated him from Polly and, when 
she went over to the front of her cage and 
put her hand through the bars and tried to 
get it round the partition, he put his hand 
over hers, and in this way they remained for 
some time, obviously both contented. 

At another time each was sitting in a 
separate cage when the footsteps of the keep- 
ers were heard coming along the passages 
which run behind the cages. Instantly, Do- 
hong got up, thumped vigorously on the floor 
of his cage with his knuckles, and then ran 
to the little door at the back of his cage to 
watch the keepers go by. Curiously enough, 
Polly did the same thing, but whether she also 
heard the footsteps or because of Dohong's 



118 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

signal, I cannot say. My impression is that 
it was on account of his signal. 

The first sign Dohong gave of the beginning 
of his last illness was by constantly covering 
himself up entirely with the straw in his cage, 
and only leaving just his odd, flat face with 
its calm steady eyes to be seen. The keeper 
told me at the time that he thought it must be 
because the boys had been teasing him, but 
it eventually turned out that he must have 
been feeling the first chilliness or shiverings 
which preceded his illness. 

Dohong always had a bad habit of swallow- 
ing any kind of stuff or rag. At one time he 
and Polly were given a clean handkerchief 
every morning to the great delight of the 
small boys who used to watch them wipe up 
the floor, rub the bars, and sop up any odd 
slops of orange juice or any other little thing 
they could find. But when these handker- 
chiefs mysteriously disappeared, and it was 
proved that the apes had swallowed them, it 
was stopped at once. 

It used to be Dohong 's great delight to 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 119 

have a piece of blanket given him, and at one 
time this led to frequent quarrels between 
Polly and himself. It ended one day by the 
blanket being split in two with the exception 
of the hem on one side, and then, when Do- 
hong finally got it, he put it round his neck 
as he had always been used to do, folded the 
two pieces in front of him and, with just 
the hem round his neck and an absolutely 
bare back, evidently thought he was warm 
and comfortable. It is these little things in 
the most intelligent animals which prove how 
much below the human reasoning powers the 
powers of the animals are. 

But during his last illness, when he be- 
came too weak to do anything in the way of 
mischief, his blanket was given back to him, 
and there he lay huddled up in it and a pile 
of straw, never moving until the time came 
for his egg and milk, when he would put up 
his arms in a pitiful imploring manner to his 
keeper, James Reilly, or Ferdinand Ingle- 
holm, like a sick child, and do his best to 
take whatever they offered him. 



120 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

It was thought for some time that Dohong's 
illness was caused by some substance he had 
swallowed and which had caused an obstruc- 
tion and, after careful examination, as the 
only means of saving his life, it was decided 
to operate on him. Accordingly, with just 
as much care and preparation as for a human 
being, with the best doctors in attendance, 
ether was administered to him, which he took 
quietly and placidly, and the operation was 
performed. 

But it was found that there was no obstruc- 
tion ; his lungs, however, were so affected from 
pneumonia that his life could not possibly be 
a long one. After the operation, he never 
attempted to tear off the bandages, but was 
one of the most obedient and tractable of 
patients. He would even try to take dis- 
agreeable medicine if offered by Mr. Eeilly, 
and always appeared glad to see Mr. Horna- 
day, Dr. Blair, Ferdinand Ingleholm, his 
other keeper, or any of those he knew by 
sight. 

During his convalescence from the opera- 



DOHONG, THE ORAJSTG UTAN 121 

tion, Polly's attentions and the efforts 
Dohong would make to do what she wished 
were really pathetic to witness. Polly would 
save pieces of bread — she never saved any 
banana or orange— and push tiny bits round 
the partition and through the bars to Dohong, 
and Dohong, ill and feeble as he was, would 
always take the pieces of bread and do his 
best to eat them, although he had perhaps 
just refused some of his favorite food. If 
he did not actually eat the bread he would 
keep it by him until removed by one of the 
keepers when he was not looking. For some 
time, at, the beginning of Dohong 's illness, 
Polly would thump on the floor or partition 
when apparently wishing to call his attention 
to something, and at first Dohong would an- 
swer either by going to the front or back of 
the cage or by making some little gutteral 
noise in answer; but, in time, he grew too 
feeble to do this and finally Polly left it off. 
But in spite of all the care and anxiety, the 
best medical attention, the most devoted 
nurses — for his keepers were absolutely de- 



122 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

voted to him, and he was never left night or 
day during this last illness— he grew steadily 
worse, and died on February 25, 1907, to 
the great grief of all those in the Park, espe- 
cially Mr. Hornaday, who had watched him 
most carefully almost daily from the day he 
arrived a tiny infant until he died. 

And on the day of his death a most curious 
thing happened in connection with Polly. 
>Vhen it was seen that Dohong had only a 
short time to live, a large blanket was hung 
completely dividing the space outside the two 
cages where he and Polly were kept. This 
was done in case Polly should either put some 
bread through the bars, or introduce her hand 
as an invitation to Dohong and so dis- 
turb him. Polly took no notice whatever until 
Dohong was dead and taken away, and then 
suddenly she sent forth a shriek which sent a 
shiver through those who had just been rather 
unnerved by the death of this most intelli- 
gent animal. And this shrieking Polly kept 
up, in spite of every effort to stop her, from 
four o 'clock, when Dohong died, until seven ! 



DOHONG, THE ORANG UTAN 123 

Whether this wild paroxysm was from grief 
or temper it is impossible to say, or how she 
could, or whether she did, know what had 
just happened. I make no comment on it 
and draw no conclusions, because with wild 
animals I have never yet come to any definite 
conclusions, even after months of careful 
study and many comparisons, without being 
completely contradicted in some other ways 
which had made themselves manifest mean- 
while. I only know that this is absolutely 
true in every respect exactly as I have re- 
lated it, and it is undoubtedly a most inter- 
esting and extraordinary coincidence. 

Among his many friends no one was more 
sincerely grieved at Dohong's death than I 
was. I was photographed with him last sum- 
mer by Mr. Sanborn and little thought at the 
time that he would die so soon. I remember 
wondering at the time what would happen if 
he got obstreperous, for I had just been told 
of some of his feats of strength ; and, although 
Mr. Sanborn and James Reilly were close by, 
there was no knowing what might happen if 



124 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

he took a sudden notion into his head! But 
he was as grave and solemn as if it had been 
a matter of life and death, sat where he was 
put, allowed his hands and legs to be placed 
to the best advantage for making a good pic- 
ture, and, when it was all over, seemed rather 
glad to get back to his cage. 

No doubt I shall meet other orang utans and 
be able to study them, but I am quite sure I 
shall never care for, or take greater inter- 
est in one than I did in Dohong. 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 



CHAPTER VII. 

FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 

Polly, Soko, August, Sally, Consul, 
Kruger. 

SINCE the death of Dohong, the orang- 
utan, Polly the chimpanzee, who was 
his companion in the New York Zoological 
Park for nearly four years, seems likely to 
lose part of her popularity to a newcomer, 
August, a young chimpanzee who was named 
after the month in which he arrived at the 
Gardens. 

Polly always attracted a great deal of 
notice, not only by her many peculiarities of 
temper and disposition, but also by her pro- 
nounced manner of appreciating any atten- 
tion on the part of the public. For Polly, 
like most chimpanzees— and I have had many 
opportunities to study them — most undoubt- 
edly plays to an audience. I have watched 
her many a time do the same things over 



128 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

and over again when these things seem to 
amuse or interest the onlookers. 

The keepers gave Polly an old brick to play 
with, and it seemed to be a great pleasure to 
carry this brick with much difficulty to a lit- 
tle ledge high up at the back of her cage and 
keep it there. Dohong used to watch his op- 
portunity and bring it down again, and in 
this way they spent a great part of their time. 
One day last summer, when a number of boys 
were watching these big apes, Polly found her 
brick at the bottom of the cage and with many 
slips and struggles carried it half-way up 
to the ledge. Then, w^hile she twisted her 
body to gain a footing the brick in some way 
fell down, at which all the little boys laughed. 

Polly's keen eyes were on them in a mo- 
ment. She considered a minute or two, 
looked at the boys, and then picking the 
brick up, took it half-way up and deliberately 
dropped it again and, when the little boys 
laughed again, she repeated this no less than 
four or five times, evidently in some way 
realizing that it was through her they laughed. 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 129 

I am not the only one who has noticed this 
in Polly. She has caused a great deal of 
amusement in this manner. 

In order to keep her company when Do- 
hong was ill, Soko, a black-faced chimpanzee, 
was put in the same cage with her. Judging 
by her facial expressions when Polly gives 
way to jealousy or temper, and especially 
when she works herself into paroxyms, Soko 
has " nerves " and Polly's idiosyncrasies 
worry and annoy her extremely. Soko is not 
particularly good tempered herself, and has 
been extremely ugly with the keepers once 
or twice, but her temper has not the wild, 
passionate nature of Polly's. It is a sulky, 
revengeful temper, slow but lasting; she does 
not forget, as she has proved on more than 
one occasion. 

She hits Polly on the head just as Dohong 
used to when the noise and annoyance become 
unbearable, but, unlike Dohong, who was 
always ready to be friends again, and who, 
indeed, judging by his manner, appeared to 
forget it as soon as it was over, she resents 



130 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

it for some time afterwards. Lately, when the 
quarrels between the two became so frequent 
and deadly that the authorities were afraid 
they might do each other some mischief, it 
was decided that they should be put into 
separate cages, and there they have remained 
for some time. 

But August, for many reasons, is rapidly 
becoming the "star" of the primates' house 
in the New York Zoological Park. Quick, 
alert, spry, this little chimpanzee is one of 
the most interesting, intelligent and amusing 
little animals I have ever seen. He has for a 
companion a little drill monkey who is as 
opposite in many ways as he can be, and yet 
the two are inseparable companions and do 
the most extraordinary things together. 

August is a very little fellow, not much 
bigger than the little drill monkey, but he 
is nearly always to be seen carrying the 
drill, not in his arms or on his back, but 
clasped tightly to him; the drill wraps arms 
and legs round his little friend and clings 
to him as if for dear life. August will some- 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 131 

times waddle round the cage in this manner, 
and get quite exhausted, but in many cases 
the drill will not let go his hold, especially 
if anyone is teasing him. 

I watched Keeper Reilly one day rubbing 
the chimpanzees with oil in the early morn- 
ing. Their skin becomes so dry owing to the 
steam heat that this proceeding is not only a 
great relief to them but a necessity; and the 
way in which each chimpanzee went through 
the operation was a great study. 

Polly was the first one and, taking ad- 
vantage as she always does of any excuse for 
excitement, straightway began to scream. The 
oil was put on a little stove to warm and the 
keeper seemed to think she would not wait 
for it, but I am inclined to think that she 
was* jealous because he was talking to me, 
for I have never yet tried to hold any con- 
versation with either of the keepers without 
Polly starting and keeping up a most trying 
monotonous moaning noise, or else screaming 
and gradually working herself up into a pas- 
sion. 



132 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

However, as soon as she was taken up by 
Mr. Keilly, she put her arms round his neck, 
gave a little crooning noise and seemed per- 
fectly satisfied. Of course she made as much 
fuss about the oiling as possible; made 
hideous faces, cried, moaned, whimpered, and 
when the brushing process arrived fought the 
brush as though it were a snake. However, 
she finally submitted to having her hair 
brushed gently, and I noticed after this 
operation she appeared very comfortable and 
contented and sat in a corner of the cage 
rubbing her arms just in the same way in 
which the keeper had been rubbing her with 
oil. 

Indeed, so enlivening an effect did this mas- 
saging with oil have upon her that soon after- 
wards she got up, spread her arms out and 
careered round and round, evidently well 
pleased with herself and everyone else. 

Then came Soko's turn. I noticed that 
great caution was necessary w T ith this chim- 
panzee. Quiet but sulky, she allowed herself 
to be rubbed with the oil, but watched every 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 133 

opportunity to scratch and even try to bite 
her keeper. Her strength too was enough 
to make anyone nervous. Twice her large 
hands with their long, slim fingers tightened 
round the keeper's arm with a deadly grip, 
and once or twice it was as much as he could 
do to take them off. 

She looked a most uncanny creature as she 
sat there, being rubbed, one limb held at a 
time and her jet black face with its keen 
eyes looking weird and fierce. For Soko has 
not the slightest indication of amiability in 
her countenance. As a rule she is deadly 
quiet with a sulky or indifferent manner, but 
when annoyed her face puckers up, her brows 
draw together in a peculiarly human fashion, 
and with an unmistakable frown and scowl, 
it becomes evident she is in a bad tem- 
per. 

The massaging did not seem to have such 
a pleasant effect upon her as upon Polly, for 
she seemed to be trying to get the oil off her 
body, and sat in a corner and sulked. 

But the funniest part was when August's 



134 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

turn came. With his bright eyes and pleasant 
expression, he welcomed his keeper as cord- 
ially as any living creature could who had 
not the gift of words. I am almost inclined 
to say he smiled, but he most undoubtedly 
widened his lips, and if anyone doubts this 
statement let them go to the Park and watch 
this chimpanzee for just half an hour, and it 
can easily, be verified. 

The welcome to his keeper having been 
given genially, August suddenly saw the can 
of oil, the piece of flannel and the hair brush, 
and his expression changed in the most amus- 
ing manner. He pouted his lips, made grim- 
aces, queer noises expressive of any inter- 
pretation the looker-on might put upon them, 
and then, going over to the corner, sat down, 
shut his eyes tightly and put both hands in 
front of his face! 

Occasionally he would move one hand away 
open his eyes cautiously and, seeing Mr. Eeilly 
and the oil still there, shut them tight again 
and put his hands in front of his face as 
before. But he is a good little fellow, and, 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 135 

when he was once taken up and settled on 
his keeper's knees, he submitted to the rub- 
bing much better than either of the others, 
and neither sulked nor flew into a passion. 

The process of rubbing the face came last, 
and then he shut his eyes, screwed up his 
face exactly in the same way in which I have 
seen children when being washed, and when 
it was all over, gave a big sniff and sigh of 
satisfaction. And then he chased the little 
drill — who had been watching him with keen 
interest, gesticulating all the time to the 
keeper, evidently telling him what he thought 
about it— all round the cage, tried to scare 
him by stamping his small feet at him, and 
then pummelled him until he whimpered and 
cried ! 

After this he spread his arms out and 
careered round and round and, when we 
laughed, stopped suddenly, looked at us with 
a pleased expression and then did it again 
and again until he was so dizzy that he had 
to sit down and blink his eyes. 

August is like many human beings ; he takes 



136 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

violent fancies for people. He has taken such 
a fancy to Dr. Blair that it is now impos- 
sible for the Doctor to be in the Primates' 
House without August detecting him. Dr. 
Blair may be standing in a crowd, and far 
back, but the bright eyes of August never 
fail to discover him, and his concentrated gaze 
cannot fail to tell all those present who he is 
looking at. And if the Doctor, trying to es- 
cape so much public notice, draws back or 
to one side, he only defeats his own ends, be- 
cause August will follow him with a steady 
gaze until all in the crowd turn round and 
follow the direction of his eyes until they find 
out who he is looking at. 

And if any doubt exists that a chimpanzee 
smiles, this alone would seem to prove it. 
For, if any living countenance shows real 
pleasure and delight it is the countenance 
of August when he catches sight of the Doc- 
tor. It is not to be wondered at that now, 
whenever possible, Dr. Blair does not visit 
the Primates' House when there are great 
crowds unless he has some special reason for 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 137 

doing so. For even as he leaves the house 
August's eyes will follow him just as long 
as he can see him, to the great amusement of 
all present. 

So many chimpanzees have become noted in 
Zoological Gardens and wild animal shows 
that it is only possible to speak of one or 
two more in this book. "Sally" of the Lon- 
don Zoological Gardens, now long since dead, 
was one of the best known, I think, as also 
was Consul II. of the Belle Vue Zoological 
Gardens, in Manchester, England. Another 
Consul that was in Mr. Frank Bostock's 
Show was very intelligent and interest- 
ing, and attracted large crowds to see him 
ride a bicycle, work a typewriter, and do all 
sorts of other things which were really very 
wonderful. 

In the Clifton Zoological Gardens, Bristol, 
England, there is now living a chimpanzee 
who has just recovered from a most serious 
illness caused by cutting his wisdom teeth. 
As it is said by all authorities that this is one 
of the first records of a recovery from an ill- 



138 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ness from this cause in a chimpanzee, Kruger 
has quite a unique history and has become 
quite celebrated in consequence. But this 
recovery is said, even by these authorities, to 
be entirely due to the marvelous devotion of 
his keepers who sat up with him at night, 
and scarcely gave themselves time enough for 
food and exercise during the illness of this 
animal. 

Kruger has had a most unique life, even 
for a chimpanzee who has been captured, and 
travelled from place to place and finally set- 
tled down in captivity. Kruger 's first master 
was a Captain A. Melville Jones, who was 
stationed at one time over a hundred miles 
from any other white man, and at this place, 
Kruger the chimpanzee, was his most faithful 
and constant companion. For want of some 
one to speak to, the Captain would talk to 
him, tell him of various items which inter- 
ested him, and the chimpanzee would sit on 
his knee with his arms round his neck, and 
although he could not give him any advice 
about the matters of which he told him, he 



FAMOUS CHIMPANZEES 139 

evidently greatly appreciated being talked to 
and petted, and showed his sympathy and af- 
fection in many wonderful ways. 

The time came for Captain Jones to leave 
this station, but he could not leave his faith- 
ful companion; so he brought Kruger with 
him to England. Then came difficulties about 
keeping him. Kruger needed and expected 
constant attention and, having been used to 
so much, probably found it hard to do with- 
out it. There were also grave difficulties 
about leaving him with others, even if they 
were willing to have him, which in many cases 
they were not, for Kruger had likes and dis- 
likes and was difficult to manage except when 
with his master. 

Finally, when it was found quite impossi- 
ble to keep him any longer Kruger was pre- 
sented to the Zoological Gardens at Bristol 
by Captain Jones and Lieutenant R. W. Wil- 
f ord. He soon settled down in his new home 
and has now become just as devoted to his 
keeper as he was to the Captain. During the 
spring of 1907 the English press devoted col- 



140 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

iimns of description to this chimpanzee and 
a great deal of controversy took place as to 
whether the chimpanzee could possibly re- 
cover from his serious illness. 

The majority of the papers decided that he 
could not and some of them even went so far 
as to publish notices of his decease with all 
the details, some of which would have been 
extremely interesting if they had only been 
true. There is, I believe, still a doubt as to 
whether Kruger will long survive this illness 
but at the present time there seems to be a 
great deal of hope for it, and he is going 
on well in every respect. 

Those who have the opportunity of study- 
ing this animal must make many immensely 
interesting observations. He is marvelously 
intelligent, doing things every now and then 
which appear to tell us that we have as yet 
found out very little of what it is possible to 
learn about this most interesting atom in the 
animal world. 



TWO BISON 



CHAPTER VIII. 
TWO BISON 

Black Beauty, Montana. 

THE American bison, or buffalo, is the 
best known and most celebrated of all 
the hoofed animals in America. About its 
name, the clearest explanation is, I think, giv- 
en by Mr. W. T. Hornaday, the Director of 
the New York Zoological Park, in his "Ameri- 
can Natural History": 

"A true ' buffalo' is an animal with no 
hump on its shoulders, and is found only in 
Africa and Asia. Our animal, having a high 
hump, is really a bison; but, inasmuch as it 
is known to seventy-three millions of Ameri- 
cans as the ' buffalo/ it would be quite use- 
less to attempt to bring about a universal 
change in its popular name. There is but 
one living species.' ' 

Among the buffalo, then, in the New York 
Zoological Park, there is one particularly fine 
specimen, one of the kings of the herd, called 
143 



144 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Black Beauty. He certainly is celebrated, in 
a way, for he has murder on his head, a mur- 
der committed with deliberate and malicious 
intent. Like all his kind, Black Beauty is 
extremely jealous and has a wish to reign su- 
preme without any rivals in the shape of other 
bull buffaloes. He has not the slightest ob- 
jection to fighting, or even killing, these 
rivals; as a matter of fact he appears to en- 
joy anything in the shape of a fight, and 
would get up one daily, on very little provo- 
cation, or without any provocation at all, if it 
were not for the fact that he is now always 
kept in solitary confinement, when his rivals 
are among the herd. 

Some time ago there was another fine, hand- 
some bull, to whom Black Beauty took a great 
dislike. Several times he did his best to fight 
him, but the two were always separated be- 
fore any serious damage was done. But one 
day, when all the buffalo seemed quiet and 
contented, the cows either lying down, nib- 
bling the grass, or chewing the cud content- 
edly, Black Beauty also stood chewing his cud, 



TWO BISON 145 

while his enemy lay contentedly a little dis- 
tance off, looking sleepy and comfortable. 

Not a sign did Black Beauty give for some 
time that he even knew of the close proximity 
of his detested relative. He made no move- 
ment in his direction, uttered no sound, and, 
even when he stopped chewing and turned his 
handsome head toward the object of his dis- 
like, he gave no indication that he meant to 
commence hostilities again. 

But suddenly, without the slightest warn- 
ing, he sent forth a bellow that could have 
been heard a mile off, bent down his shaggy 
head, and, with his eyes blood red and quiver- 
ing with rage and passion, tore toward the 
other buffalo and before the poor animal had 
time to realize what was happening drove his 
cruel horns into his side. As he drew them 
out a stream of blood came with them and the 
wounded buffalo did his best to stagger to his 
feet. 

Before he could get half-way up, Black 
Beauty made another dash for him, drove his 
horns in once, twice, three times, and then 



146 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

bellowed again as though in triumph. By this 
time Mr. Maclnroe, the keeper of the herd, 
with several other keepers, had hurried up 
w r ith pitchforks, poles, stakes, or anything 
they could find, and a desperate time ensued. 
Their chief object was to protect the wounded 
buffalo, who was now bleeding freely and 
moaning miserably. But Black Beauty's 
blood was up, and a savage bull buffalo in a 
passion is a thing of terror and a most dan- 
gerous animal, not only on account of his 
temper, which is wildly fierce when roused, 
but also on account of his size and strength. 

Many of the keepers had some narrow es- 
capes, and it was only their quickness and 
agility which saved them from horrible death. 
To add to their difficulties, the whole herd 
had grown wildly excited from the unusual 
proceedings— the bellowing of the bulls, the 
shouts of the men, and their wild scrimmaging 
round and round to avoid Black Beauty's 
attacks, for he seemed ready for anything and 
anybody by this time. 

Finally, he was forced at the points of 



TWO BISON 147 

pitchforks and various other uncomfortable 
objects, to go inside one of the sheds, and 
when he was securely fastened in, the keepers 
turned their attention to the wounded bull. 
He was so terribly torn and gored that 
nothing could possibly be done for him, and 
when the Director, Mr. Hornaday, saw the 
pitiful state he was in, he realized that the 
kindest thing would be to kill him at once. 
Delay only meant useless suffering to the ani- 
mal, and it was impossible to move him in the 
state he was in. 

Accordingly, as soon as arrangements could 
be made, he was shot, to -the great regret of 
all, for he was a fine buffalo, one of the most 
valuable of the whole herd. But Black Beauty 
after this showed so much pure viciousness 
that he was made to live by himself in a 
small plot of ground close by the buffalo 
house, where he can be seen any time, and 
easily recognized by his particularly hand- 
some head and large size. When first shut 
within this enclosure, he resented it bitterly 
and did his level best to get out; so that 



148 WILD AXIMAL CELEBRITIES 

owing to his tremendous strength, it was de- 
cided to put an extra railing of cherry wood 
round the enclosure. 

But one day, when more restless than usual, 
he broke through the barriers and found him- 
self with the herd again, and at once opened 
hostilities by trying to fight with anyone who 
was so foolish as to fight with him. When he 
was finally driven back extra precautions 
were taken to prevent his breaking out again, 
when, finding that to get out of his enclosure 
through the barriers was now impossible, he 
turned his attention in another direction, and 
his next feat seems to show something ap- 
proaching reason. Not being able to get 
through his railings he went into his stable, 
separated from another by strong boardings 
and a locked door, and butting his big head 
against the door, burst it open, and walked 
through the adjoining stable into the yard, 
thus finding himself among the other buffalo 
once more ! 

Another lively time ensued and grave fears 
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TWO BISON 149 

would be possible to keep him within bounds. 
But there are things known to man which 
even a particularly strong and savage buf- 
falo cannot break through, and he has no more 
chance of getting out of his enclosure now 
than a man in a stone prison — in fact not so 
much. 

And, somehow, he seems to know it for he 
stands there in moody silence with eyes fiery 
red, or else shows his ill temper by "whoof- 
ing" through his nostrils, or making curious 
angry sounds under his breath. He does not 
seem to have much affection for the cows 
and calves; in fact, for the latter he seems 
to have nothing but rank hatred, and the 
moment either of the calves presumes to come 
"near his enclosure, he tries to butt at them 
with his horns, or blows angrily through his 
wire netting, when the calves walk off meekly. 
Black Beauty is one of the finest speci- 
mens of buffalo in captivity, and he is at his 
best in November or December. He then has 
his fully grown new coat for the winter, and 
is ready to face anything. Those who live 



150 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

near enough should go to the Park some win- 
ter day when it is stormy and watch him, if 
only for a short time. Notice his height of 
hump, his long, thick pelage, his short tail, 
and short curving horns. Take notice also 
that his shaggy head faces the storm, instead 
of his turning his back to it after the man- 
ner of all other cattle, and with what abso- 
lute indifference he receives either wind, rain, 
or snow. 

He will not be interested in the visitors; 
he will not be worrying about his wives and 
children; he has plenty of food and water, 
and a comfortable house to go into any time 
he likes. The only thing I believe he ever 
thinks about is a fight, and that is a thing of 
the past, for like all murderers he has cut 
himself off from pleasures, and his future is 
always to be dull and lonely because he has 
proved himself not fit to be at large. 

But wicked and savage as he is, we are glad 
to have him, for each living buffalo in these 
days is a treasure, and good specimens are 
rare and costly. 



TWO BISON 151 

Another buffalo who was most certainly a 
celebrity was Montana, the largest buffalo 
ever measured by a Naturalist, and which was 
shot by Mr. William T. Hornaday on Decem- 
ber, 6th, 1886, in Montana, and mounted by 
him for the United States National Museum. 
This huge animal, which was an old bull, 
is now the prominent figure in a large group 
in that Museum and attracts a great deal of 
attention. I have no doubt his exact di- 
mensions will be found interesting to many. 
They are as follows: ft in 

Height at shoulders 5 8 

Length of head and body, to root 

of tail 10 2 

Depth of chest 3 10 

Girth, behind forelegs 8 4 

Circumference of muzzle, behind 

nostrils 2 2 

Length of tail vertebrae 1 3 

Length of hair on shoulders &y 2 

Length of hair on forehead 1 4 

Length of chin beard 11 

Estimated weight 2,100 pounds* 

I think what makes this buffalo particularly 

interesting is that his portrait adorns the ten- 

*From " American Natural History," by W. T. Hornaday 
Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. 



152 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

dollar bills of the present American National 
currency. 

There is a large American buffalo in the 
Zoological Gardens at St. Petersburg, Russia, 
who has always been noted for his fierce and 
wild disposition. For such a comparatively 
small and only fairly stocked Garden, he is 
a very fine animal, but inspires everyone in 
attendance with fear, and it is difficult to keep 
a man who will consent to feed or attend to 
him. 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 



CHAPTER IX. 

A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 

Reno, Elk ; Duke, Eland ; Jack, Donkey. 

AT the Pan American Exposition in 1901 
there was a large diving elk which at- 
tracted a great deal of attention and which, 
before the season was half over, became quite 
a celebrity. This elk went by the name of 
Reno; with his two companions, also fine elk 
but not so large as himself, he had been per- 
forming in London and Paris for over a year. 
Just before the Pan American Exposition 
the Bureau of Animal Industry requested 
them to come to the Buffalo Zoo, and all three 
arrived in fine condition, having been shipped 
in bond. They had to be kept in quarantine 
for sixty days and, once a week during those 
sixty days, the Inspectors from the Bureau of 
Animal Industry came down and carefully in- 
spected all three animals to be quite sure they 
were not infected with any contagious disease. 



156 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Reno was a particularly fine specimen and 
exceedingly gentle and tractable for an elk, 
but the close confinement was not to his lik- 
ing and he was evidently greatly pleased 
when, the quarantine over, he and his com- 
panions were allowed a little more freedom. 
In April, 1901, Reno and his two companions 
entered the Pan American Exposition, and 
here, for some time, Reno was quite a hero. 
He was so tame and good tempered that he 
was driven in a cart round the Exposition 
Grounds; women and children stroked and 
petted him, and it was a great wonder at 
this time that he was not killed by the 
kindness of his many friends, for it would 
certainly have needed the digestion of an os- 
trich to dispose comfortably of all the dainties 
offered him in the shape of food. 

These three elk did a most wonderful div- 
ing act. A pool was provided for them which 
was ten feet deep. The elk were taken to a 
high platform fifty feet from the ground and 
dived from this distance into the ten-foot 
pool, a truly wonderful feat, and a graceful 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 157 

act to look upon. For twice a day from 
April Juntil the end of June Reno performed, 
but by that time it was seen that he was get- 
ting a little too heavy; every precaution was 
taken that he did not get too much, or un- 
suitable food, in many cases to the great dis- 
appointment of the women and children who 
loved to feed him. 

But in spite of this Reno daily increased in 
bulk and one day being really too heavy by 
this time to make the jump as lightly as he 
should, Reno took the leap, described a grace- 
ful curve, but came down heavily and 
clumsily into the pool, and in so doing injured 
his right foot by striking the bottom. In con- 
sequence of this his jumping was stopped 
and, on June 25th, Dr. Crandall, Superin- 
tendent of the Buffalo Zoo, traded two 
yearling elk for him. Reno after a time com- 
pletely recovered from his injured foot, which 
had not been as serious as had been expected, 
and was used the following year in the Zoo 
as the leader of the herd. 

Keeper James Doig was put in charge of 



158 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

him, and found him a most intelligent and 
easily managed animal. The following Sep- 
tember Doig met with an accident in which he 
sprained his leg when working with the feed 
wagon and had to stay at home ten days for 
a complete rest. Accordingly, Reno was put 
in charge of another beeper; and now comes 
the curious part of it. In some way or another 
Reno seemed to know that, in this case, the 
man was a little afraid of him; finding that 
he could master a man, he instantly lost all 
vestige of his old gentleness and amiability 
and became a very demon for temper and 
viciousness. 

At the end of September Keeper Doig re- 
turned, and Dr. Crandall, who was just start- 
ing for his vacation, explained carefully to 
him the change in the animal's disposition, 
warning him that now the animal was not 
at all safe and must be watched most care- 
fully. He also related to him instances Where 
pet stags had frequently, without the slight- 
est cause, killed the very keepers they had 
formerly seemed so fond of. 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 159 

Keeper Doig was surprised to hear of the 
change but said he knew the animal well at 
all stages of the game, and was not a bit 
afraid of him. At the same time he promised 
to be cautious and not let Reno have any op- 
portunity to get the better of him. 

Accordingly, the next morning the feed 
was taken into the yard by Doig as usual, the 
same horse and wagon being used daily. Reno 
seemingly paid no attention whatever to 
either, and the Keeper keeping a sharp eye 
on him, thought it better to say nothing to 
him. But that same afternoon, when Doig 
went to feed him again at four o 'clock, it was 
another matter altogether. It was the cus- 
tom to carry the grain into the yards in pails 
at the afternoon feeding, instead of using the 
horse and wagon. Doig entered the yard with 
the pails (and this time he noticed that Reno 
was watching him quietly), and shut the gate. 
As soon as he had done this, there was a sud- 
den snort from the elk. Down went his head 
and he promptly charged his old friend and 
threw him into a corner by the fence. 



160 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Doig was in a most dangerous predicament. 
The slightest movement would mean another 
attack from Reno, who now presented the 
picture of a furious, vicious animal, ready for 
anything. As it happened, a policeman on 
duty near by called for help, and another 
Keeper, Jackett, who was working about 150 
feet from the place, caught up a light club 
and ran to the assistance of Doig. He got in- 
side the gate and hit the elk a stinging blow 
over the head with it, but the club unfor- 
tunately broke in two. 

Seeing that the elk would in all probability 
kill Doig if he left him in order to fetch 
another club, Jackett grabbed an antler in 
one hand and with a fence picket in the other, 
succeeded in pulling the elk's head round so 
that his attention was drawn away from the 
injured man. Reno now tried to vent his 
spite on Jackett, but the man had climbed on 
top of the fence where the elk could not get 
him, but where Jackett was close enough tq 
attract and keep his attention. 

By this time several other keepers arrived, 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 161 

and, after a terrific struggle and many at- 
tempts on the part of Reno to get at Doig 
again, the elk was finally beaten back; Doig 
was taken out of the yard and sent to the hos- 
pital where he was found to be very severely 
injured. But he was an exceedingly plucky 
fellow, and had recovered and was at work 
again in about three months' time. Describ- 
ing his injuries afterwards he said : 

"I had three breaks in my left arm, my 
right eye was injured, the nerves of my face 
were paralyzed for over four months, and I 
had two teeth broken which do not count/ 7 

After this Reno was never the same ani- 
mal again; indeed it was difficult to realize 
that this snorting, angry, vicious brute was 
the creature who, only a year ago, had been 
one of the heroes of the Pan American 
Exhibition and a great pet among women and 
children. He gave considerable trouble for 
two whole months, and a great deal of anxiety. 
The keepers and men in attendance on him 
had some very narrow escapes. Eventually 
he became so dangerous to men and other ani- 



162 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

mals that it was decided to put him into a 
close yard as a means of protecting them. 

But one would almost have thought that he 
knew he was going to be put into solitary con- 
finement, judging by the terrific resistance he 
made and the amount of time and trouble it 
took to get him there. In the final struggle, 
when he appeared so wildly vicious that he 
was like a mad animal, he stumbled and in 
some curious way broke his leg. After this 
there was nothing left but to shoot him, which 
was accordingly done. He dressed to 445 
pounds of the finest elk meat which had ever 
been eaten by the City Officials in Buffalo, 
who evidently enjoyed it to the full. In 
fact, I am afraid that in some instances Reno 
was far more appreciated after his death than 
during his life. All those in the Zoo could 
not fail to be relieved of so much trouble and 
anxiety, not to mention the daily danger, and 
certainly those who partook of his carcass 
were truly glad he had died. 

In the Antelope House at the New York 
Zoological Park there is a pair of animals 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 163 

who are comparatively little known to the 
general public. The male eland — the eland 
is the largest of all antelope — is the only one 
in this country and deserves attention, not 
only for his beautiful coloring, but for his 
perfect dimensions, size, and weight. 

He was brought from the Duke of Wo- 
burn's place at Woburn Abbey, England, and 
has been named "Duke" after his late owner. 
His color is a pale, delicate fawn, with a 
curious tuft of long, brown hair covering his 
forehead; the horns are spirally twisted, and 
turn outward and upward; his muzzle is 
small and naked, and the tail with the tufted 
end reaches just below the hock. There is 
a long dewlap ; he stands fully six feet at the 
shoulders and weighs about two thousand 
pounds. 

"Duke" celebrated his entrance into the 
Park by having a supper given to the em- 
ployees on his account, but the cause was an 
extremely unpleasant one. He arrived on a 
dark night when the rain was coming down 
in torrents, and the wet, slippery roads caused 



164 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

the horses attached to his conveyance to stum- 
ble and finally land poor Duke in a ditch. 
It would have been difficult enough in any 
case to install him in his new home, partly on 
account of his weight, but in pitch darkness 
and in driving rain, it became a very serious 
matter. 

Under the direction of Mr. Hornaday, the 
men strained, pulled, and worked until they 
were wet to the skin and streaming with 
perspiration. In daylight they might have 
been able to take the eland out of his cage 
and guide, or drive him to the Antelope 
House, but on a dark night this was out of 
the question, and, moreover, the poor animal 
was nearly frightened out of his senses, what 
with the long journey, the transfer from the 
ship to the wagon, the jolting of the road 
and then the final turnover, not to speak of 
the repeated shouts of the men and the strug- 
gles of the frightened horses. 

Finally, a crate was fixed over the eland's 
cage with great difficulty, and he was hoisted 
out and into another conveyance and event- 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 163 

ually deposited in his new home. And than 
the Director of the Park roused up the peo- 
ple at the Restaurant and ordered plenty of 
hot coffee and food for all those who had 
taken part in this strenuous housing of the 
biggest of all antelopes. 

From the first, this eland has been ex- 
tremely gentle and placid, seemingly content 
with his life and surroundings, but, like most 
of the other animals in the Park, he has had 
his adventures. He was placidly chewing his 
cud one morning, feeling particularly com- 
fortable, and did not to all appearances notice 
that his next door neighbor, Gunda, the ele- 
phant, seemed rather restless. 

He had become accustomed to Gunda 's 
restlessness and it was not until the rear of his 
cage had bulged in and the elephant entered 
that the eland got up, stopped chewing his 
cud, and appeared to realize that something 
unusual was going on. Even then, the keeper 
was so quick in following the elephant up 
and insisting on his returning to his own 
quarters, that Duke had scarcely time to be 



166 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

really frightened, and within half an hour 
was seen in the same position as before, 
placidly chewing his cud. 

After awhile, Duke gave signs of being 
lonely, and so a companion was provided for 
him, but on arrival was put into a cage by 
herself. But this time Duke was interested 
in the new arrival and made a little whining 
noise which was promptly answered by his 
relative; now the pair can be seen together, 
both placid and obviously contented. Duke's 
wife, like all other female eland, has a dewlap 
and horns like her mate, but in some way 
must have injured one horn, as it is turned 
completely down instead of up, and gives her 
a peculiar appearance. But she is a fine speci- 
men and quite as beautiful an animal as her 
mate. 

The Rocky Mountain goat is well known by 
name, and yet comparatively few know any- 
thing about it except that it lives on rocky 
mountains, and " leaps from crag to crag." 
Fewer still ever realize the immense difficulties 
encountered in capturing and bringing these 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 167 

animals alive to another country. The first 
great difficulty is in reaching, or even get- 
ting near, the almost inaccessible places where 
it generally delights to live. The best hunt- 
ing time is in September or October, just 
before the rainy season comes in, but the 
primary object being to get these animals 
alive, there must be no shooting done ; to cap- 
ture these animals when they are quite young 
is next to impossible. 

A few years ago the New York Zoological 
Society determined to have some Rocky Moun- 
tain lambs caught in Alaska and sent a man 
with a white guide and three Indians to 
catch them. One fine May morning the party 
climbed to the most rugged crag of the Knick 
Mountains, and, after stupendous trouble and 
many dangers, caught three lambs and car- 
ried them most carefully down to the valley. 
With the very greatest care and attention, 
and most careful watching, the little creatures 
lived only a few days; all three were much 
too delicate. Another time seven were caught, 
but all died before getting on board. Finally, 



168 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

five pretty little creatures were captured and 
brought safely to New York by Mr. W. T. 
Hornaday himself and duly installed in the 
Park, where they can now be seen in an en- 
closure close to the pheasant house. 

These five are not yet full grown, but give 
indications of being strong and healthy. In 
looking at them it is difficult to realize that 
these animals in their natural state are so 
wild and timid. When full grown, the Rocky 
Mountain goat is about the size of a large 
sheep, with very short and stout legs which 
terminate in broad, blunted hoofs. The body 
is covered with long white hair, and in this 
coloring is unique among ruminants, being 
one of the very few mammals that are white 
at all times of the year. Beneath this long 
hair there is a thick coat of wool, also white ; 
the ears are pointed, and the horns jet black, 
curving backward and ringed half-way up. 

Although so active in their native haunts, 
the Rocky Mountain goat has very little speed 
owing to its short and somewhat clumsy limbs. 
"When surprised it will move slowly off down- 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 169 

hill -with that marvelous gait which no man 
can imitate or overtake on such perilous 
ground. 

Those who have the opportunity should see 
and study the five in the New York Zoologi- 
cal Park, for these animals are so exceedingly 
rare and difficult to obtain that it is well 
worth the trouble. Watch them carefully. 
There are no wild mountain airs about them, 
no scampering from place to place, no scrap- 
ping among themselves. They move their 
snow-white bodies slowly and quietly about, 
and if pushed by one move gently on one side 
as though wishing to avoid strife. But their 
milk-white bodies, their stubby limbs, their 
questioning dark eyes, and their curious 
silence all make them deeply interesting. 

I heard a story about another hoofed ani- 
mal which I am afraid I cannot by any stretch 
class under the name of a "wild" animal ; but 
there is something so funny and interesting 
about it that I am venturing to put it in. 
It was told me by one of the trainers at Bar- 
num and Bailey's Circus in such a vivid and 



170 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

realistic manner that I conld almost see the 
animal and his every action as he told it 

A few years ago among the many attrac- 
tions in the Barnum and Bailey Circus was 
a " Singing Donkey." It was announced that 
this donkey would sing twice a day, accompa- 
nied by his trainer and the circus band, the 
well-known old song, " After the Ball Is 
Over." I need scarcely say that the donkey 
did not actually sing, but he brayed heartily 
and with the clever contrivance of the band 
and his trainer in putting in emphasis to keep 
time to his braying, it really went off very 
well and was always tremendously applauded. 

The donkey would be brought in, made to 
bow to the audience, and after a few chords 
from the Band the trainer would stand in 
front of him and sing, beating time to the 
music with his stick. 

"Af— ter the Ba— all is 0— ver." 

And the donkey would join in vociferously : 
'Hee Haa—aw, Hee — Haa— aw, Hee 



"i 



As the trainer sang his loudest and the 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 171 

bancLplayed fortissimo all the time, the "Hee 
haws" of the donkey worked in very well 
and in many cases brought down the house. 
This proved such a success that the trainer 
was constantly asking that his salary should 
be raised, until at last he was fast becoming 
a well-to-do man, for no one else could make 
the donkey bray when told and no other don- 
key could be found who would even try. 

When the season was over and the Circus 
went into winter quarters, a request came 
from some vaudeville show in New York for 
some "attractions." The proprietors sug- 
gested the "Singing Donkey" for one thing, 
but the sum asked seemed very high. Ac- 
cordingly before making a final agreement the 
owner of the vaudeville show asked to be 
shown the act first. So he traveled down to 
the winter quarters and the donkey sang his 
hardest to the delight of the newcomer. 

A contract was signed, the trainer and his 
donkey came to New York and the very next 
morning a rehearsal was called. But for 
some reason or other, when the time came for 



172 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

the donkey to "sing" not a note would he 
utter ! The trainer thought it was on account 
of the empty theater or the lack of footlights, 
and resolved to try the rehearsal in the stable. 
It would be a good test because the band was 
not there, so he filled the stable with all the 
people he could get together and standing in 
front of "Jack," began: 

"Af — ter the Ba— all is o— ver," 

And without a moment's hesitation Jack 
opened his mouth and roared, 

"Hee Haa — aw, Hee Haa — aw, Hee Haa — 
aw," to the unspeakable relief and joy of the 
vaudeville manager and his trainer, for this 
act had been advertised all over the place and 
every ticket was sold. 

AVhen the opening night arrived, the house 
was crammed, and so impatient were the 
audience to hear the "Singing Donkey," that 
repeated requests came from all parts to 
"Bring on the Donkey." 

And when Jack was brought on, he was 
received with applause which would have flat- 
tered a prima donna. And when silence was 



A FEW HOOFED ANIMALS 173 

restored, the band played the air through 
first, the trainer stood in front of him beat- 
ing time with his stick and began singing. 

But instead of the donkey joining in, in his 
usual vociferous manner, no sound came from 
him. Again and again his trainer began, and 
again and again the band played over the 
tune and then started afresh with a flourish. 
The donkey stood there, calm and placid, 
whisking his tail as he might in the summer 
time when the flies were troublesome! It is 
needless to speak of the chagrin and disap- 
pointment of the vaudeville manager, or the 
bitter disappointment and humiliation of the 
trainer. There was nothing to be done but 
to try and pacify the audience and, for days 
afterwards, try to induce the donkey to give 
his old performance. 

But it was all no use. He would do it in 
his stable, but nowhere else, and the trainer 
began to give up all hopes of his ever doing 
it again. But as soon as the Circus season 
began, Jack gave his best performance in the 
Circus arena without the slightest hesitation. 



174 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

There was no accounting for it, no way of 
arguing or reasoning with him. He was only 
a dumb animal and a donkey at that, but he 
evidently had his own ways of doing things. 
He would only "sing" in a stable or in the 
Circus ring, and no persuasions ever induced 
him to do anything else. 

I never saw this donkey and he is, I believe, 
dead now, but he must have been an interest- 
ing animal in many ways and is certainly the 
only donkey I have ever heard of who would 
even make any noise at all when he was told 
to do so, so I think in a way he was certainly 
a celebrity. 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 



CHAPTER X. 

THREE GREAT BIRDS 

George and Martha Washington, Os- 
triches; General, Condor. 

IN the Cawston Ostrich Farm at South 
Pasadena, California, there are several 
ostriches who are great celebrities in their 
way. For instance, there are General and Mrs. 
Grant, Admiral Dewey, Mr. and Mrs. McKin- 
ley, President and Mrs. Roosevelt, and several 
others with well known names. But the old- 
est and most celebrated among all the hun- 
dred and fifty birds on this farm are George 
and Martha Washington, a pair of ostriches 
who are noted for being the best breeders and 
most faithful sitters in the whole farm. 

Both are remarkably fine specimens. George 
stands nearly four and a half feet high at 
the highest part of his back. Although a 
handsome bird in many respects, he is, like 
all his kind, very much out of proportion. He 



178 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

has a curious flat head, a long thin neck, and 
long, muscular, naked legs ending in two-toed 
feet. Some parts of his body look too small 
and some too large; some parts are naked 
and some are covered with the most beauti- 
ful feathers. His large dark eyes with 
their long eyelashes are a great contrast to 
his ugly, flat head, and, when he stretches his 
long neck to its fullest extent, he stands over 
eight feet high. 

George Washington has a jet-black back, 
and soft white feathers at the tips of his ri- 
diculous little wings and tail. Martha, his 
wife, is not nearly so good looking, as she has 
no white feathers, but is of a uniform drab 
color ; also she is smaller. But George is very 
devoted to her. He conducted his courtship 
in a slow and solemn manner, being extremely 
careful in his selection of a wife, for os- 
triches only have one wife in a lifetime. When 
an ostrich loses his partner, he never takes 
another, but remains solitary for the re- 
mainder of his days. 

When a pair are once mated, they are put 




George Washington, the Celebrated Ostrich on 
the South Pasadena Ostrich Farm, Having His 
Feathers Plucked 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 179 

in a separate enclosure in the farm, and there 
are no-other ostriches or anything else to dis- 
turb their domestic life. The first time Martha 
was ready to lay her eggs, George prepared a 
nest for her by crouching down and scooping 
out a rough hole in the ground. Martha laid 
her first egg promptly, and every other day 
deposited another one in the nest until there 
were fifteen ; and during this time the nature 
of George Washington underwent a complete 
change. 

He had been a fairly good tempered, placid 
bird until then, showing no particular in- 
telligence or excitability; but, as soon as the 
breeding season began, he was constantly 
challenging all who approached to fight with 
him. This challenge to fight was conveyed to 
the stranger by crouching down, spreading 
out all his beautiful wing feathers, and mov- 
ing his flat head from side to side in an un- 
mistakably threatening manner. An angry 
male ostrich in breeding time is an extremely 
dangerous creature, for he is the largest and 
most powerful of all the large and powerful 



180 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

birds, and George showed a good deal of 
genuine temper on these occasions. 

For forty days George kept this up, his 
wife dutifully sitting on the eggs (each of 
which weighed three pounds) by day, and he 
doing the same by night. This is really a 
wonderful provision of Nature, because in 
their native state, the drab-like color of the 
female blends with the sand, and the dark 
color of the male bird is not so noticeable at 
night. 

At the end of the forty days curious little 
creatures of about twelve inches high crept 
out of the shells, looking something like bits 
of old feather dusters. And just as soon as 
they were hatched neither George nor Martha 
took any further notice of them or the nest. 
When in their native state the young birds 
are very often trampled to death by their par- 
ents, who are always clumsy and stupid birds, 
but on this farm in California the young birds 
are put into a corral of young tender alfalfa 
hay by day, and securely housed by them- 
selves at night, so this danger is avoided. 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 181 

The young ostriches do not eat the first four 
days, -but after that they become ready and 
somewhat greedy eaters, and grow very fast. 
They increase in height about a foot or a 
foot and a half a month for the first six 
months, and by that time are full grown. 

With many ostriches in captivity, there is 
great difficulty in many ways during breeding 
time; some hens do not lay well or, if they 
lay well, do not make good sitters, and in this 
manner many valuable settings are lost. But 
George and Martha had always been noted for 
their particularly good behavior in this re- 
spect, and great reliance had been placed upon 
them ; they were always pointed out to visitors 
as the best breeders and sitters among the 
whole farm. 

But on one occasion, when Martha had 
faithfully laid the requisite number of eggs, 
for no apparent reason she absolutely refused 
to sit. And now follows one of the most curi- 
ous cases on record. When George saw that 
his wife was not doing her duty in the way 
of sitting on the nest, he did all in his power 



182 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

to first persuade, and then try to make her 
do what was required of her. He would tap 
and turn over the big eggs with his wide bill, 
go over to her and peck her and then back 
again to the eggs, and when Martha still re- 
fused, he tried to drive her over to the nest ! 
But after a time he seemed to realize that 
it was no use; and one day, although it was 
midday, to the astonishment of the onlook- 
ers, after looking toward his wife once or 
twice, he deliberately sat down on the nest 
and stayed there! This is an extraordinary 
fact, especially when it is taken into con- 
sideration what a tactless, unintelligent bird 
the ostrich is. He appears to all those who 
have studied him carefully to do everything 
by instinct alone, which makes this act of 
George Washington's all the more wonderful. 
What I consider is more extraordinary still 
is that he sat patiently on that nest during the 
ensuing forty days and nights, kept the eggs 
warm, and finally hatched out the finest brood 
of chicks w^hich had ever been hatched on the 
farm during all the years of its existence. 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 183 

But, like many other husbands, when com- 
pelled to do things which are really the duty 
of the wife, George, judging by the way he 
treated his wife whenever, during this time, 
she ventured to approach him, let her know 
what he thought of it; she got some very se- 
vere blows and challenges to fight. But when 
the eggs were hatched George forgot his 
grievances, and he and his wife were as con- 
genial as ever and, apparently, no thought 
whatever was given to the chicks who were the 
cause of their disagreements. 

I think I am right in saying that this is 
the only known record of a male ostrich in 
captivity hatching out the eggs entirely by 
himself. It is specially interesting if only to 
p*rove that even an ostrich has its own in- 
dividuality, and that it is never safe even to 
state that the "male ostrich always sits on the 
eggs by night and the female by day, ' ' for 
this little story alone proves that there are 
certainly exceptions to every rule. 

George and Martha Washington still breed 
and hatch young birds, but Martha has never 



184 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

since refused to sit. And this fine pair of 
ostriches is noted for being the oldest pair on 
the farm, and for having produced the largest 
number of birds. They both attract a great 
deal of attention from visitors, whom they 
seem to be pleased to see. But whether it is 
the visitors or the fact that, in order to en- 
tertain and amuse these visitors, George and 
Martha are on these occasions given oranges, 
I do not know. 

B'ut the visitors enjoy this little episode 
very much. The ostriches keep a keen look- 
out and, as the guide throws the yellow fruit 
in all directions, they catch them very cleverly 
and adroitly in their mouths and swallow 
them whole ! The progress of the orange pan 
easily be noted as it makes its way down the 
long narrow throat ; the ostrich swallows once 
or twice, blinks its eyes with their long lashes, 
gives a little gulp at the last, and the round 
projection is lost to view in the mass of 
feathers in the body. 

There was another noted ostrich on this 
same farm who would swallow anything that 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 185 

came along, like all his fellows. But one day 
he got hold of the green veil of an incautious 
visitor, and this green veil, after causing him 
great discomfort, was finally the cause of his 
death, and the proprietors lost a valuable bird 
through a visitor's carelessness. 

Another proceeding of interest to visitors 
to this ostrich farm is the "plucking" of the 
birds. As a matter of fact, they are not 
actually "plucked," as we think of plucking, 
as no feather is ever pulled out. When the 
young birds are about nine months old, one 
is taken at a time and driven into a small 
triangular enclosure and, generally after 
some resistance (and these young birds are 
very strong) a soft hood is placed over its 
head. 

In this manner the bird is completely over- 
come and bewildered, and makes no resist- 
ance whatever. One strong man holds the 
bird, in case of occasional struggles, while 
another one with a large keen pair of scissors 
cuts off the finest feathers. The whole thing 
is over in a very short time and, when twenty 



186 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

or thirty big, and some few small feathers 
have been cut off at the quill an inch or an 
inch and a half from the body, the hood is 
taken off, the bird looks around thoroughly 
bewildered, and the men take their departure 
before he has time to get angry about it. 
There is not the slightest pain caused to the 
birds as so many people think. For all os- 
triches are extremely valuable and, although 
hardy in some respects, are easily injured in 
others, and it would be greatly against the 
proprietors' own interests to hurt the birds 
in any way. 

"When a bird has been plucked he has his 
complete liberty for another nine months, 
when he is once more captured, driven into 
the enclosure, and the stripping process is 
again repeated. Should an ostrich seem at 
all worried after he is set free, he is generally 
treated to a little bit of some food of which 
he is particularly fond, for he will always 
eat, no matter how much he may have had 
already. One ostrich alone will consume four 
or five pounds of alfalfa hay daily, a goodly 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 187 

quantity of vegetables of all or any kind he 
can get, oranges, apples, pears, or any other 
fruit, not to speak of such objects as iron 
nails, handles of doors, or similar little things. 
An ostrich has been known to swallow even 
a lighted pipe taken from an unwary visitor, 
a tennis ball, all sorts and kinds of jewelry; 
one even had a try at a small sunshade. All 
ostriches are very fond of water and are fre- 
quent bathers. 

Mr. J. S. Vallely, of the Cawston Farm, 
sends me a few unique details about the os- 
trich, which, from one who lives constantly 
with these birds and studies them from every 
point of view, I consider doubly interesting. 
He says: 

* "The ostrich is a bird of very limited in- 
telligence, and whatever it does seems to be 
from instinct more than from any thought 
it takes about the matter. The male bird is 
very pugnacious in the breeding season and 
may be quite dangerous if not closely watched 
at such times, although, when the eggs hatch 
out, the parents do not seem to take any spe- 



188 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

cial interest in the young ones. We often 
take chicks and eggs just about to hatch 
from a nest while the parent birds eat at the 
feed box seemingly having no interest in the 
robbery that is being perpetrated. 

"In Africa, where each pair of birds is 
allowed about ten acres of veldt to forage 
over, there are no boundaries and yet each 
pair seems to settle definitely where their ter- 
ritory begins and ends. ' Whenever anyone 
crosses the imaginary border he is imme- 
diately attacked by the male bird who lords 
it over that particular tract, and it is neces- 
sary while crossing the disputed ground to 
keep the bird at a safe distance by means of 
a thorny stick; just as soon as the trespasser 
steps over the line which the ostrich has fixed 
upon as being the boundary of his domain he 
immediately retires, and the attack is taken 
up by his neighbor and so one is conducted 
by each ruler in turn. 

i 6 The popular idea that the ostrich hides his 
head in the sand and then imagines himself 
invisible is not correct ; it has probably arisen 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 189 

from the fact that when closely pursued the 
bird will suddenly squat down, and so nearly 
does it resemble the ground in color that, un- 
less it were in a very open country and being 
closely watched, it then becomes almost in- 
visible. 

' ' It is amusing to see the very young chicks 
of our own birds, when not more than a couple 
of weeks old, sometimes when we are trying 
to catch them, suddenly squat down in this 
fashion, although they have never seen the 
older birds do it ; it seems to be an instinct by 
heredity. ' ? 

This, last little incident is, I think, particu- 
larly interesting as adding to the proof that 
it is not even necessary for the parents of 
wild creatures to " teach' ' their young ones 
What to do, as stated by so many writers. 
It is all more or less a matter of instinct with 
them. 

As the ostrich is the largest and most power- 
ful of all birds, so the condor is the largest 
of all the birds of prey. The California con- 
dor is, among all naturalists, the most cele- 



190 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

brated of all this family, not only because of 
its rarity, but because it is the largest Ameri- 
can bird of prey. 

General, a somewhat recent addition to the 
collection at the New York Zoological Park, is 
one of only five specimens which natural- 
ists have been able to capture and rear in 
captivity, as this bird is almost extinct. The 
other four are in the Government zoological 
collection in Rock Creek Park in "Washing- 
ton, D. C. 

General was captured by Mr. William L. 
Finley, of Portland, Oregon, who spent three 
whole months in the San Bernardino Moun- 
tains in southern California searching for the 
nest in which General was born, and his 
studies and careful investigations are not only 
extremely interesting, but very valuable from 
a scientific point of view. 

On the 10th March, 1906, after weary 
search and tiresome wanderings, Mr. Finley 
at last found the nest of a condor in which 
reposed one smooth, glossy egg y and close to 
the nest in careful guard was a big, full grown 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 191 

adult condor. In describing this spot, Mr. 
Finley says : 

"A ridge, just wide enough £or a path, 
dropped steep into the gorge on both sides. 
For two miles we wound round a shaky trail, 
tracing the top rim of the basin. A great 
slab of gray stone barred the doorway of the 
condor's home, and protected it from storms. 
Up a narrow steep pocket we scrambled, cling- 
ing to the scrubby bushes and the snaky roots, 
washed bare by rain, until we could peer 
through a crack in the rocks. An uncanny 
feeling ran through me as I made out indis- 
tinctly the big, black body of the condor, with 
its orange colored head and beady eyes watch- 
ing me intently. ' ' 

For twelve days Mr. Finley and his com- 
panion carefully watched the nest, and then 
to their joy found that the young condor had 
been hatched ! As Mr. Finley not only wanted 
the specimen for a zoological collection and so 
win one of the large rewards offered but also 
wanted to study the habits of the bird in its 
native home, everything was left undisturbed, 



192 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRTTTES 

but eight periodic trips were made to and 
from the nest between March tenth and July 
fifth. When the discovery became known to 
Mr. Hornaday, he did all in his power to en- 
courage the two men in their work, and to 
keep a detailed record of their experiences. 

In the beginning of July, when the young 
condor was 110 days old, Mr. Finley took 
the bird from its nest and carried it to his 
home in Portland. At that time it weighed 
fifteen pounds and a half. In August, the 
young condor was taken to a summer camp up 
in Willamette River, and placed in a com- 
fortable enclosure in the forest. For two 
months the bird was watched most carefully. 
A pound of raw meat was given to him twice 
a day with plenty of fresh water. Special 
care and attention was paid to the bird's feed- 
ing in order to find out whether the natural 
propensity to eat carrion would manifest it- 
self. But it was always found that it would 
invariably eat the fresh meat from choice and 
never touch anything else unless driven to 
do so by the absence of any other food. 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 193 

The description of General's progress is 
well told in Mr. Finley's own words: 

"When General was 150 days old he was 
well fledged, except that his breast was still 
covered with gray down. His wing feathers 
were strong, but they were not able to sup- 
port his heavy body. If we did not let him 
out of his cage every day he became very 
restless. When the gate was opened he would 
stop a moment or two, look about and then 
stalk slowly out. He did nothing without de- 
liberation. Then, w T ith several hops he would 
go half-way across the yard, clapping his big 
wings, and going through a regular dance, 
jumping up in the air several times in suc- 
cession. 

"On his removal from his native home he 
had lost his wildness and had now become 
gentle and fond of those who cared for him. 
He loved to be petted and fondled and would 
nibble at my hand, run his nose up my sleeve, 
and bite the buttons on my coat. ' ' 

General was extremely fond of bathing, and 
would patter in the water of the creek for an 



194 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

hour at a time. His favorite amusement was 
to hop up a ladder placed against a tree; up 
he would go, rung by rung, and then in his 
clumsy manner lift his big wings and fly off. 
This he would do over and over again. From 
his many observations Mr. Finley has come 
to the conclusion that there are a great many 
good characteristics in this bird, which has 
always been considered more or less of a de- 
generate. 

When the young condor reached the New 
York Zoological Park, he weighed twenty 
pounds and a half, was forty-six inches in 
length, and the spread of his wings measured 
eight feet. The fact that General's history 
has been carefully followed from the egg 
stage right up to the present time makes this 
instance quite unique in the wild bird records 
of this country. 

It has been generally supposed that the 
eggs of the great auk were the rarest of their 
kind, but between seventy and eighty great 
auks' eggs have been preserved, and there are 
only forty-one condor eggs in the museums 



THREE GREAT BIRDS 195 

of the whole world. Taking into considera- 
tion the fact that the species is almost ex- 
tinct, it does not seem probable that this num- 
ber will ever be increased to any great extent. 

General can be seen in the Park any day, 
and is a most interesting bird to watch. His 
favorite amusement seems to be playing with 
a piece of stick or an old bone. He will look 
at the bone with his head on one side, spread 
out his large wings, pick up the bone, walk 
a few steps with it and then career round and 
round with outspread wings in the most 
clumsy, solemn manner. He will generally trip 
up on something, then he will seem to get 
scared, put up his wings, drop the bone and 
walk off, floundering about and lifting a foot 
simultaneously with each wing in a curiously 
amusing manner. 

After waiting awhile, he will stumble back 
to the bone again, pick it up and do the same 
thing over and over again. I watched him for 
about an hour one afternoon, and how much 
longer he would have kept it up, I cannot say, 
if another vulture, with a coolly indifferent 



196 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

air, had not come up then and carried the bone 
off. General made not the slightest attempt 
to prevent him. He watched him walk off 
with his plaything, shut his eyes once or twice, 
and then huddling himself up, settled down 
as though to take a nap. He remained in this 
same position for half an hour and although 
there were one or two little diversions during 
that time among the others, caused by dis- 
agreements, General never so much as shook 
a feather or opened an eye. A more placid, 
calm, indifferent piece of goods than this 
fierce bird of prey I have never seen any- 
where in captivity. But he is evidently quite 
happy and contented in his surroundings, and 
thoroughly appreciates his life in captivity. 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 



CHAPTER XL 

PONDEROUS REPTILES 

Old Mose and Number Two, Alligators; 
Buster, Tortoise. 

THAT there is an unreasonable prejudice 
against all "Reptiles," with an equally 
exaggerated fear of them, I know only too 
well, because, for a very long time, I suffered 
severely from both these complaints. But if 
anyone will only take the trouble to study 
the reptilia ever so little— the many interest- 
ing forms and colorings, the various habits 
and characteristics, not forgetting the most 
interesting part of all, the part which the 
reptiles of the past have played in the evo- 
lution of the birds of the present day — one 
will discover here a far greater and wider 
field, in many ways, than that offered by the 
more populous wild animals, such as lions, 
tigers, and elephants. 

It does not appear as if an alligator can be 
particularly interesting, still less an old, slow, 



200 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

phlegmatic tortoise of nearly four centuries 
of age, and yet there are so many incidents in 
connection with every living creature, if one 
could only get hold of them, that many good 
stories could be told about them. An alligator 
is not beautiful or graceful or even fairly in- 
telligent, and yet no doubt all have histories 
of their own of some kind or other. 

One alligator whom I knew personally very 
well, although he did not have the courtesy 
to even acknowledge my presence in any way, 
was the well known alligator in the New York 
Zoological Park, that reached the length of 
thirteen feet, and was familiarly called "Old 
Mose. ' ' He certainly had an individuality of 
his own, for of all villainous old bullies, Old 
Mose was certainly one of the greatest. 

According to hearsay, he apparently always 
had been a bully, from his earliest youth, 
which he spent in the Indian River, Florida, 
to some few years ago, when a severe and 
painful lesson altered his ways and behavior. 
It was always easy to recognize Old Mose 
apart from his size, for he had lost a large 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 201 

circular piece out of one side of his tail, 
probably snipped out by a shark when he had 
been swaggering round in his native river. 

One would have thought that his capture 
would have been enough to subdue any 
creature, for it must have been humiliating 
and very painful. Like all the other alligators 
there, Old Mose used to burrow into the banks 
of the Indian River, making himself a com- 
fortable and snug place of rest and refuge; 
and there he slept and idled away his time 
when not swimming in the water. But one 
day, his size and strength having been noticed 
by a man who made his living catching alli- 
gators and selling them, a hunt was arranged 
between ten or twelve travelers and prepara- 
tions begun for the capture of Old Mose. 

In the first place, a large noose of very 
strong rope was laid round the opening of his 
burrow ; then the alligator catcher drove long 
iron stakes deep down through the earth into 
the end of the burrow. For some time there 
was no movement, no sign that anything alive 
was there at all and, after waiting until their 



202 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

patience was nearly exhausted, two or three 
of the travelers went cautiously forward and 
tried to look into the burrow. But frequent 
and severe prods from sharp iron stakes are 
not comfortable even to an alligator with a 
skin as tough as anything in the world and, 
after awhile, there appearing to be no way 
of getting any peace in the burrow, Old Mose 
decided to go out of it. 

Accordingly, when they were all thinking 
of giving the big alligator up for that day and 
trying another burrow, the travelers coming 
to the conclusion that alligator hunting was 
very slow sport, there was a sudden rush and 
flounder, loud shouts from the men who had 
a tight hold of the end of the noose, and out 
came Old Mose, only too ready to do any- 
thing in his power to destroy his tormentors. 
But it was no use ; the noose tightened round 
his thick throat, his strength went from him 
with the terrible pressure and loss of breath 
and, in a very short time, but after a terrific 
struggle, Old Mose had lost his freedom for 
life. 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 203 

Accounts of his size and strength went forth 
to many places and he was finally bought by 
a lady in Virginia who followed the unique 
occupation of keeping an alligator farm. 
From this lady, the Director of the New York 
Zoological Park, Mr. W. T. Hornaday, heard' 
of Old Mose, and not so very long afterward 
Old Mose became one of the residents of the 
alligator pool in the Eeptile House, where I 
made his acquaintance. 

Naturally he was the biggest alligator there, 
and he let every one know it in just as ob- 
jectionable a manner as he could. Not one 
of the other alligators dare come near him; 
it was almost a liberty to take even a little 
swim in the pool. Even when not interfering 
witb. him in any way, or even going near him, 
Old Mose would occasionally make a sudden 
rush and, with open jaws, drive the un- 
fortunate creatures hither and thither. Finally 
it became a question what to do with him. 
One special alligator, for some unknown rea- 
son, became his especial aversion. This alli- 
gator, who goes by the name of Number Two, 



204 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

measured only just about half the length of 
Old Mose when he arrived at the Reptile 
House, and was consequently at a disadvant- 
age in every way. 

Poor Number Two 's life was a burden. He 
always kept as far away from old Mose as 
he possibly could, but, for the first three years, 
he was persecuted almost day and night. He 
took it as meekly as an alligator can take 
anything, and made the best of things seem- 
ingly by keeping a sharp lookout and getting 
out of the way whenever he could, but he 
could have known the meaning of neither rest 
nor peace. But alligators grow, like all other 
creatures, and all this time Number Two was 
growing steadily. It may be of interest to 
many to hear exactly how much this particu- 
lar alligator grew each year. 

When Number Two was received at the 
Reptile House he measured 6 feet, 11 inches. 
During the first year he grew 1 foot, 3 inches, 
and so measured 8 feet, 2 inches. During the 
second year, he grew 1 foot, 1 inch, thus 
measuring 9 feet, 3 inches; and during the 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 205 

third year lie grew 1 foot, 7 inches, and so 
measured 10 feet, 11 inches. Old Mose by 
this time had grown to be twelve feet, five 
inches, but the younger one had grown much 
faster in comparison and had developed in 
strength and muscular power, and was not 
very much smaller at this time than Old Mose 
himself. 

One would have thought that such a cun- 
ning old rascal and bully as Old Mose would 
have had sense enough not to bully the young 
one quite so much, but, for some reason or 
other, the digger Number Two got, the more 
Old Mose bullied him. The other alligators 
had a pretty bad time of it, too, but Number 
Two always got by far the largest share; he 
could scarcely get time to sleep unless his 
enemy was asleep himself. 

Just to experiment as to the intelligence of 
these reptiles, it was decided at one time to 
try and teach them to take their food from the 
edge of the tank instead of having it thrown 
to them. It was thought that, not only could 
the amount of food be better regulated, but 






206 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

the feeding could in this way be made inter- 
esting to visitors. So the fish and meat were 
offered in the most tempting morsels from the 
edge of the tank by the keepers, but, although 
five pairs of eyes looked at the morsels, the 
alligators would neither touch it or even come 
forward and for several days they fasted until 
it was feared they would starve. 

And then, one day, when it had been de- 
cided to try it once more and if the reptiles 
refused to take their food in this way to give 
it up, Old Mose led the w^ay and swam to- 
wards the keepers, opened his huge jaws and 
received as a reward a large plump fowl. 
From that time Old Mose was always ready at 
feeding time with widely extended jaws, and 
when his companions followed his example he 
always did his best to prevent their getting 
any, especially poor Number Two. 

His greediness was just as great as his 
bullying, and the keepers had to see that the 
others got their food by keeping him back 
with poles, or shutting him off until they had 
finished. But this practice of lining up for 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 207 

meals by the alligators in the New York 
Zoological Park, their wide open mouths wait- 
ing f oir anything which may be thrown in, 
has now become quite an ordinary occurrence, 
and, as it is a very interesting one, I advise 
all who have the opportunity to go and see it. 

Old Mose continued his bullying of Number 
Two until it was a matter of grave considera- 
tion among the authorities as to what should 
eventually be done with him, for it was be- 
coming nothing less than a case of cruelty. 

And then, one very hot day, when every- 
thing seemed sleepy and inert, Old Mose was 
fairly quiet and peaceable, seeming inclined 
to sleep himself. He had been lying perfectly 
motionless, in the way alligators have, for 
some time, and Number Two was lying just 
behind him, directly facing his tail and always 
evidently on the lookout for the slightest sign 
of movement on his enemy's part. Now, 
whether it was because Number Two 's wrongs 
had accumulated to the explosive point, or 
because of the close proximity of his enemy's 
tail will never be known, but, without the least 



208 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

warning, Number Two suddenly caught hold 
of Old Mose's tail, fixing his teeth firmly into 
the part where the notch had been made by 
the shark, and hung on for dear life. 

Old Mose was powerless. It was useless 
turning round; he simply swung his enemy 
away from him, and no matter how much he 
turned and twisted Number Two would not 
let go. Alligators do not pull and strain at 
the objects they catch hold of, like most of 
the wild animals ; they turn round and round 
in the water like a swivel, and keep this up 
until the part they happen to have in their 
mouths comes away by sheer force of twist- 
ing and wrenching. 

There followed one of the most terrific 
struggles ever seen between two reptiles in 
captivity; indeed I doubt whether such 
another instance has ever even been heard of. 
The water was splashed and thrown up high 
and in all directions, turning gradually to- 
wards the end of the struggles to a deep red 
color, but Number Two did not once loosen 
his hold until he had torn off fully fourteen 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 209 

inches of Old Mose 's tail ! And when he had 
accomplished this, Old Mose was a different 
beingr He did not attempt to go after Num- 
ber Two, or hurt him in any way; he crept 
to one corner of the pool and stayed there, 
a completely vanquished and subdued tyrant, 
and just as meek as his namesake is supposed 
to have been. 

Few can realize what enormous strength is 
necessary to tear off the tail of an alligator, 
and such a large alligator. A famous taxi- 
dermist once told me that even he had never 
realized how tough an alligator's skin was un- 
til he mounted one. He then found that, 
in closing up the opening in the stomach, in 
order to insert the necessary stitches, he was 
obliged to drill holes in the skin, nothing else 
being found strong or forcible enough to do 
it. And yet this young alligator had bitten 
off fourteen inches of the tail of a full grown, 
abnormally big, strong alligator ! 

From the time of this victory of Number 
Two's, Old Mose turned over a new leaf; he 
made no more rushes at any of the other alii- 



210 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

gators, no more swaggering, vigorous switches 
of his strong tail which often turned the 
smaller alligators over into the pool whether 
they wanted to go there or not. After this 
time, he kept usually in a corner by himself, 
where he lay in that deadly dull, motionless, 
uninteresting way which all alligators have. 

There was a time when, with all the other 
alligators, he would lift up his head at an 
angle of forty-five degrees, and bellow or roar 
every time the bell in the Reptile House rang 
at noon. After his conquest, he would lift 
his head from perhaps force of habit, but his 
bellow was weak and feeble and completely 
drowned in the roar of his companions. I 
think I am right in saying that alligators are 
the only crocodilian who utter a vocal sound 
of any sort. 

I used to watch Old Mose carefully after 
his conquest, but it was very uninteresting in 
a way. The most vivid imagination could 
scarcely find any expression in an alligator, 
and Old Mose would lie there with closed eyes, 
and when occasionally, the curious films which 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 211 

covered them would drop down — for these 
films come from below the eyes — there was 
no more expression than before. Even with 
an open mouth an alligator is not more ani- 
mated for, unlike the wild animals who in 
moving their tongues indicate in some way or 
other their state of feelings, the tongue of an 
alligator is motionless because it is fastened 
to the bottom of his mouth until nearing the 
root, and is white and lifeless looking. 

Old Mose recovered completely from the ef- 
fects of the accident, or attack, and lived for 
some time afterwards, eventually attaining 
the length of thirteen feet, but he never re- 
covered his spirits or his activity, and, when 
he died a short time ago, Number Two did 
not seem at all depressed, but is now himself 
the biggest alligator in the pool, and holds 
his own much as Old Mose used to do, ex- 
cept that he is neither a bully nor a nuisance, 
but an average healthy, well behaved alligator. 

In the Reptile House in the New York 
Zoological Park is another reptile which is 
well worth studying. This is Buster, a giant 



212 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

tortoise, who is about three hundred and sev- 
enty years old. Buster arrived at the Park 
with five other companions from the desolate 
grounds of the Galapagos Islands. He weighs 
about three hundred and fifty pounds, and his 
legs remind one of the legs of a young ele- 
phant; he is able to carry two men on his 
back, for his strength is immense. 

His capture must have been a vast under- 
taking, except that, beyond puffing and blink- 
ing, Buster made no resistance whatever. 
True, he tried to walk away several times 
but, not being very active, it did no good. 
After his capture it gave twelve men several 
days' hard work to get him down from the 
volcanic ground where he was found to the 
nearest coast, which was about fourteen miles 
away. 

Buster has had no startling adventures dur- 
ing his residence in the Park. He lives in 
the Reptile House in the winter and just out- 
side in an enclosure in the summer; during 
the summer time he is fed upon watermelons. 
He can eat two large melons at a meal and 



PONDEROUS REPTILES 213 

would probably eat more if he could get it. 
But lie is an interesting reptile, if only on 
account of his size and age, and surely, any 
creature who has lived nearly four centuries 
becomes a celebrity! 



SNAKES 



CHAPTER XII. 

SNAKES 

Fatima, Selima, Great Peter. 

I HAVE no doubt that many readers will 
pass over this chapter, for to many the 
very word " snake" causes a shudder. But 
those who do will lose not only three excellent 
stories; but an opportunity of hearing some 
really interesting facts about these creatures 
which have been gathered by actual personal 
observation. 

In the New York Zoological Park there ar- 
rived one day at the Reptile House a huge 
snake over twenty feet long and of about the 
thickness of a man's thigh. It w^s packed 
coil upon coil in a four-foot crate, and had 
been there for over three months without food 
or water. It was a most beautiful creature; 
the body was covered with a rich Oriental 
pattern in brilliant and iridescent colors, and 
partly for this reason Mr. Raymond L. Dit- 



218 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

mars, the Curator of the Reptile House, named 
her Fatima. 

Fatima arrived just before the new Reptile 
House was finished, so, for the time being, 
she was put in one of the animal sheds in a 
tank of tepid water under which an oil stove 
was kept burning. About a couple of weeks 
afterwards Keeper Charles Snyder found her 
very irritable and nervous; she lay coil upon 
coil in one corner where, raising her head, she 
hissed at all who approached. After watch- 
ing her carefully it was discovered that in 
the middle of her many coils there was a cone- 
shaped mass of eggs; this cone the python 
kept covered carefully and patiently for six 
long weeks, but no little snakes appeared, and 
it was not long before it became evident that 
the eggs had been chilled in some way, prob- 
ably through a chill to Fatima herself dur- 
ing her journey. 

As Fatima furiously resented the slightest 
sign of interference it was impossible for some 
time to get the eggs away, and, when eight 
weeks had passed, the big snake showed signs 



SNAKES 219 

of weakness and great emaciation. So finally, 
with the aid of several keepers, Mr. Ditmars 
covered the snake with blankets, caught hold 
of her firmly by the neck and carried her to 
other quarters. When the cone of eggs came 
to be inspected there were found to be seventy- 
nine, each about the size of a hen's egg. 

On examination it was found that Fatima 's 
skin, which she should have shed naturally, 
had dried and hardened and it was feared she 
would die, so steam was turned into her cage 
for a time and then hours of steady and risky 
work began by "peeling" the python. When 
this was finished, however, Fatima was more 
beautiful than ever. 

But she would not eat, and the next fear 
was that she would starve herself to death as 
so many snakes in captivity do unless forced 
to eat. So Mr. Ditmars decided to take bold 
measures and feed her by force. Seven rab- 
bits were killed and tied together with twine. 
As soon as the cage door was opened and 
Fatima raised her head, a stream of w^ater was 
directed into her face from a hose. At the 



220 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

same moment Mr. Ditmars seized her by the 
neck and the keepers caught her and dragged 
her out of the cage. Very soon Fatima had 
had seven rabbits pushed about six feet down 
her throat. 

I need scarcely say that this is a most 
deadly dangerous operation, how dangerous 
I did not realize myself until this last spring, 
when arrangements were kindly made for me 
by Mr. Ditmars to see the performance for 
myself. It was not Fatima herself this time, 
but another Regal Python about twenty-two 
feet long and weighing about two hundred 
and seventy-five pounds. The keepers were 
summoned from all parts of the Park, the 
rabbits were killed— I did not see this part — 
and, when all preparations were ready, Keeper 
Snyder took a piece of coarse sacking, 
opened the back of the cage, threw the sack- 
ing over the head of the python, and then 
cautiously and very quickly put his hand 
on the back of the snake's neck and grasped 
it firmly. 

This sounds very simple and easy, but if 



SNAKES 221 

he had happened to put his hand a little too 
far forward or slightly to the right or left 
of the snake's head he would probably have 
been bitten at once. This was one of the risk- 
iest moments in the whole business. As soon 
as he had grasped the neck, the tug of war 
began. There was a huge uplifting of the 
python's whole body, and coil upon coil rose 
in the air, but Snyder held on for dear life 
and, with every atom of strength at his dis- 
posal—and he is a powerful man — he pulled 
at that head until it was outside the door of 
the cage ; as the length of the snake protruded, 
each man of the twelve or fourteen keepers 
present caught hold of it at intervals, and in 
this manner it was carried, or as much of it 
as could be carried, ( as part of it had to stay 
in the passage — into an inner room; I was 
invited to stand in front of the- python and 
watch proceedings. 

For the time the python was completely 
overpowered, but occasionally he would make 
a sudden twist and turn, and then every man 
on the force would strive and struggle, show- 



222 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ing by their color and streaming perspiration 
that this was no child's play. In this case, 
two rabbits were given. The skins had been 
pulled off as far as the heads and turned back 
over them, thus forming a more lubricating 
substance for passing down the python's 
throat. After the insides of the rabbits had 
been taken out, they had been dipped in 
water to make it easier still, and the whole 
proceeding went off without a hitch. 

Do not suppose, however, for one moment 
that the python did not resist ; as soon as his 
mouth was pried open, which he resented 
fiercely, he resisted with all his strength, every 
nerve and fibre of his nervous body quivering 
with the effort. He gave such a sudden lunge 
at one time that I quite expected to see the 
whole lot of men tumble over and, had this 
happened, it would have been, of course, a 
serious thing. But they are a nervy lot of 
men in the New York Zoological Park, and 
held on to that python like grim death. 

I stood about a foot, and sometimes less, 
from the python's mouth, and it was a great 



SNAKES 223 

opportunity to study his head and eyes and 
look into his throat. I watched his eyes most 
carefully, but I saw nothing unusual in them 
from any other time when I have watched 
him from outside the glass of his cage. As 
soon as the rabbits were down about six feet, 
the long pole was carefully withdrawn and 
the python put into an inner room for a 
time, while his cage companion was subjected 
to a slight operation, which I was also allowed 
to see. 

His tail and the coils of his body were laid 
down in the room first, and finally Keeper 
Snyder was left holding the neck. Here came 
the extreme danger again. It requires great 
strength and extremely quick movement to 
throw the head of a twenty-two foot python 
away from you far enough to prevent his bit- 
ing you in retaliation. With all the strength 
and agility which the keeper showed at this 
moment he was very nearly bitten ; as a matter 
of fact his finger was actually scratched by 
the snake's teeth, but he washed it with dis- 
infectant and felt no ill effects. 



224 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

The same procedure was followed with, the 
other python, only, instead of being fed, he 
had two loose teeth taken out, which must 
have greatly relieved him. Sore mouth is a 
common complaint with the big snakes in 
captivity. The teeth were taken out with 
small pincers, but when the mouth had to 
be swabbed out with disinfectant the python 
helped matters greatly by biting viciously on 
the lump of cotton wool saturated with lis- 
terine which was put into his mouth. He was 
then put back into his cage, where he at once 
made for the tank of cool water, putting his 
head right down to the bottom, drawing his 
long body into thick coils after him and then, 
lifting his head out of the water, settled down 
comfortably and seemingly very contented. 

There ensued an exciting time when the 
other python was taken out of the inner room, 
but this too was accomplished successfully, 
he followed the example of his companion and 
went straight into the tank, which in a few 
minutes was filled to overflowing with thick 
coils of python, moving slowly up and down 



SNAKES 225 

with the creatures' breathing, the iridescent 
colors looking more beautiful than ever. It 
was certainly one of the most interesting ex- 
periences I had ever had. 

Another interesting python in the New 
York Zoological Park was Selima, whom Mr. 
Ditmars found in a show and purchased for 
the Park. This python had been in the shows 
for years, and Selima 's mistress declared that 
she would not feed from any other hand but 
hers. However, as her mistress did not ac- 
company Selima to the Park, other people 
had to feed her, but it proved to be true that 
she would not eat unless fed by hand. Also, 
the python seemed lonely and, when the keep- 
ers would open her door, she would crawl 
over them and coil herself round their 
shoulders as was her habit when in the show 
business. Finally, Mr. Ditmars fed her en- 
tirely himself, and here comes a curious co- 
incidence. 

When Selima had been in the Park for sev- 
eral months Mr. Ditmars was seriously in- 
jured and had to be absent for three months. 



226 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

On making inquiries on his return for Selima, 
lie was told that she had starved herself to 
death. Food had been placed in her cage, but 
she refused to touch it, and, in spite of being 
subjected to the stuffing process which I have 
just described, she finally developed canker 
and died. I make no comments on this, but 
these are facts, and I am inclined to think 
that this python, being accustomed to being 
handled daily, fondled, and fed by hand, had 
in some way missed her new master ; but this 
I leave for others to decide for themselves. 

Mr. Frank Bostock, in his book on "The 
Training of Wild Animals," tells a capital 
snake story about Great Peter, one of the larg- 
est pythons ever kept in captivity. He says :* 

"A curious incident . . , occurred at 
the Pan American Exhibition with Great 
Peter. Great Peter had been fasting for some 
time — most of the summer in fact — and we 
were beginning to feel anxious about him, 
when, toward the end of September, he sud- 



* "The Training of Wild Animals," Frank C. Bostock. The 
Century Co., N. Y. 




Great Peter, in Bostock's, one 
Pythons Ever Kept in Captivity 



the Largest 



SNAKES 227 

denly became very lively — always a sure sign 
of hunger. 

"Much delighted at these signs, his keeper 
at once looked for suitable food for him, and 
procured a young razor-backed pig. As a 
general rule, most animals, when put in with 
snakes are rendered helpless by fear. They 
appear paralyzed by a strange fascination, 
and, instead of making the slightest resistance 
or attempt to get away, stay on the very spot 
where they are thrown until the snake kills 
them with a bite, or thrusts them into their 
tomb by swallowing them. 

"But this little razor-back was made of 
different stuff, and was neither fascinated nor 
helpless from fear. The moment he entered 
the cage it was evident that he meant to have 
a good fight for it no matter what happened. 
He gave the python no time to strike, but tak- 
ing time by the forelock, ran up to the huge 
snake, screaming shrilly at the top of his 
voice, and fastened his sturdy tusks firmly in 
the back of the snake ? s neck. 

"He squealed no more after this but at- 



228 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

tended strictly to business, and hung on like 
grim death. There was a momentary pause, 
and then the daring little pig shook his enemy 
vigorously as he would a rat. For a second or 
two thirty-two feet of python coiled and 
lashed about the cage in a furious manner, but 
the pig hung on. 

"His triumph did not last long. The con- 
test was too unequal. Suddenly the thick coils 
left the air and descending on the plucky lit- 
tle pig, coiled round and round, crushing his 
body and cracking his ribs as though they 
were nutshells. But still the pig hung on- 
hung on until the coils of the snake gradually 
relaxed — and then, as they loosened weakly, 
and fell off, the pig, game to the last, dropped 
off the python's neck, dead. His enemy lay 
quietly beside him — the conqueror and con- 
quered together. 

"Had the razor-back only allowed himself 
to give one little squeal when he was being 
crushed, he would have been obliged to relax 
his hold, and we might have saved the python, 
but his pluckiness cost us a valuable reptile. ' ' 



SNAKES 229 

I saw Big Peter in Mr. Bostock's show at 
the Pan American Exhibition, and was as- 
tonished at its size and evident weight, but 
needless to say I was not present when this 
extraordinary accident occurred. 

There was a fine python from Java in the 
Amsterdam Zoological Gardens a few years 
ago which attracted a great deal of attention 
owing to its size and ferocity, but whether it 
is still alive I do not know. In the Zoologi- 
cal Gardens at Hamburg there is a very large 
cobra, which is a splendid specimen. 

There are, of course, plenty of snakes which 
have become celebrated in a way by having 
caused the death of several persons, but many 
of these stories cannot be relied upon. The fol- 
lowing, however, are known to be true, and it 
will be seen that one death was caused by 
foolhardiness, the other by fear. There is 
the case of Girling, one of the keepers in the 
London Zoological Gardens, who, some years 
ago, after having a little too much to drink, 
actually took out of its cage the big Indian 
cobra, and held its head up in front of his 



230 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

face, saying he was inspired. There was a 
moment's pause, and then the cobra, with 
lightning-like rapidity, struck Girling across 
the nose and between the eyes with his fangs, 
leaving several punctures. Girling, with a 
shriek, became sober in an instant, threw the 
cobra back into its cage, and with the blood 
streaming down his face, exclaimed, "I am 
a dead man. ' ' 

Everything was done for him that was pos- 
sible, but after the most terrible convulsions 
he died before he had been in the hospital an 
hour. 

Not so many years after this incident a 
keeper in the Zoological Gardens in Dublin 
was one day bitten by a large boa. The boa 
was not poisonous but the man was so ter- 
rified that he died within a few hours in 
spite of the fact that several medical men 
who were called to him assured him there was 
no danger whatever. Whether he thought 
they were only telling him this to reassure 
him, I do not know, but it was concluded after 
his death that he had died simply from fright. 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 



CHAPTER XIII. 

SEALS AND SEA LIONS 

Tesca, Sea Lion; Toby, Seal; Wilmer, Sea 
Lion. 

IT was some time before the fact was real- 
ized that seals and sea lions are extremely 
intelligent. Few creatures that come out 
of the water are noted for intelligence, and 
although seals and sea lions, being mammals, 
are not popularly considered in the same class 
as fish, they certainly have helped to strength- 
en the idea, by their stupid, vacant ex- 
pressions, that there was nothing particularly 
interesting about them as far as understand- 
ing was concerned. 

It has only been within the last few years 
that I have had the opportunity to study these 
animals, and to study them under exceptional 
advantages. For weeks in the winter of 1906 
I went almost daily to the New York Hippo- 
drome to see Captain Woodward's seals and 



234 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

sea lions perform, and — what was much more 
interesting and valuable to me— to see how 
they were made to learn their tricks and obey 
their instructor. 

Captain Woodward taught these animals to 
beat drums at certain moments, to play musi- 
cal instruments of various kinds ; to balance 
billiard balls on the tops of cues, and to walk 
across the floor while balancing them; to 
catch and toss, and catch again, conical shaped 
hats, and various other things; all of which 
was truly wonderful. One sea lion was par- 
ticularly quick in learning tricks, and an ex- 
cellent performer, but the difficulty with him 
was to make him understand which trick he 
was wanted to perform. 

"With all performing wild animals, this is 
always the most difficult thing to make the 
animals understand. It is impossible to ex- 
plain, or tell in words what one wants done to 
a creature who does not even understand the 
human language. The only thing to do is to 
always perform one trick after the other in 
regular rotation, never varying the perform- 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 235 

ance in any respect. Most of the animals get 
so accustomed in time to do one particular 
thing after the other that it becomes mechani- 
cal, and should a trainer decide to cut out 
one trick, he would find great difficulty in 
doing it, because the animal would often insist 
on going straight ahead until finished. 

Tesca would go straight through a per- 
formance very often with no deviation from 
the regular schedule, but then again very often 
he would not. Sometimes he would begin the 
very last trick before he had got through the 
first, or seem bewildered as to what Captain 
Woodward wanted him to do. But he was also 
wonderfully quick in knowing when he was 
doing wrong and when reproved would always 
give a peculiar little deprecating cry as 
though he had just found it out; he would 
then start in properly again, evidently fully 
appreciating the little bit of praise when he 
had done right. 

But the one performer who interested me 
most among all these animals was Toby, a 
seal. The first time I ever saw Toby he was 



236 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

lying just at the top of his tank on his sleep- 
ing-board, watching his master get the fish 
ready for their breakfast. There had been 
a mistake of some kind, and no fish had ar- 
rived until eleven o'clock, and it was then 
found that it was not perfectly fresh and 
therefore no good. It is most important 
that these animals have absolutely fresh food. 
The very least bit of stale fish will not only 
make them very ill, but is likely to cause their 
death. 

Even when the fish are fresh, all the gills 
and insides are taken out, and the fish dipped 
into clean fresh water before being given to 
the animals. So that, when the second lot 
of fish did eventually arrive, they still had to 
wait some time before it was ready for them. 

And Toby, although he is just a little fat 
seal with a short neck, no visible ears, a 
spotted body— quite unlike a sea lion, which 
has no spots, but a long flexible neck and ex- 
ternal ears — and a very meek and gentle ex- 
pression in his dark eyes, was the most im- 
patient of the whole lot. His companion seal, 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 237 

who shared the same tank with him, contented 
himself with slipping through and through 
the water in his tank as if he had been oiled, 
taking a peep once in a while to see how mat- 
ters were progressing; while the sea lions, 
looking occasionally at their master with their 
lion-like faces — which are supposed to have 
given them their name — would turn on one 
another savagely, biting at each other in a 
vicious manner and screaming in their hoarse 
voices until they would receive a few smart 
taps from their master with a long stick, when 
they would dive down under the water out of 
the way, and then come up and do the same 
thing all over again. 

But Toby wasted no time at all. His right 
flipper just rested over the top of the water 
tank, and every minute he would flap it up 
and down as he did when beating the drum 
in his performance. And, of course, every 
time he did this, he splashed the water 
all over everything and everybody. It 
was a most exciting scene and a very noisy 
one. 



238 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

The quarrelling and screaming of the sea 
lions, the flapping of the water by Toby, and 
the continual shouts of the trainer in his vain 
endeavor to make them keep quiet, were 
deafening at times, but eventually the last 
fish was cleaned and washed, and then began 
the feeding. 

Three men threw the fish to the various 
animals | there were nine or ten of them) 
as fast as they could, and, even then one or 
the other would get in a noise between the 
gulps. For there was no stopping to even 
taste the fish; they swallowed them whole, 
and, in a very little time, had finished an en- 
tire barrelful and were crying for more! 

Toby had stopped his flapping as soon as 
he began his breakfast, but the very moment 
he had finished he began harder than ever, 
and we were all soaked with water before his 
master could stop him. But when being 
taught his tricks Toby was a good, obedient 
little fellow and did his best at all times. The 
most wonderful thing of all about this little 
seal was the way in which he seemed to un- 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 239 

derstand all his master meant. For instance, 
Captain Woodward told me that the way in 
which his best trick developed was through 
playing with him. One day Toby beat the 
drum at the wrong time just as his master 
turned his back, and when Captain Wood- 
ward pretended to be surprised Toby 
promptly did it again as soon as he turned 
round. And this trick was dearly loved by 
the children at the performances. It was 
such fun to see the little seal wait for his 
master to turn his back, and then beat the 
drum, and as he looked round again, to 
pretend he knew nothing about it ! 

This trick also came in when starting the 
sea lions' band. Just as Captain Woodward 
would look round at the others, one with a 
trombone, another with a cornet, a third with 
cymbals, etc., Toby would beat the drum, and 
the crestfallen, ashamed way in which he hung 
his head when his master looked at him was 
really a comical sight. But it was far more 
comical when, with baton uplifted ready to 
give the signal to start, the trainer would 



240 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

look round and then "bump, bump/ 7 would 
go the drum from Toby again, amidst roars 
of laughter and delight from the children. 

But Toby's greatest trick was to sit in a 
chair and play the banjo. He would have a 
little cap on his head, a pair of spectacles on 
his funny little nose, and a large piece 
of music on the music-stand. Then he would 
play the "Sea Lions' Polka." That is to say 
the band in the orchestra would really play 
the tune, but one of the seal's flippers would 
be tied to the banjo strings, and these strings 
Toby would pull for all he was worth. The 
harder and quicker he pulled, the bigger was 
the piece of fish he would get at the end of 
his performance. Whether he realized this 
I cannot say, but he probably did, judging 
from his actions ; he certainly knew when his 
trainer was pleased with him and did his very 
best. 

This giving or refusing of fish is the only 
way in which seals and sea lions can be 
punished, except perhaps a light touch from 
a cane, and even that has to be given care- 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 241 

fully. A blow — sometimes even a light one— 
will bruise tlie thick layer of fat or "blubber" 
with which their bodies are covered ; and these 
bruises have been known to eventually cause 
the animal's death. Also, any blow given 
hastily might land on the nose, the most 
tender and susceptible spot on a seal's or a 
sea lion's body. One well directed blow on 
the nose causes death. In this way the fur 
seals are always killed when hunted for their 
fur. 

It was the custom at night for the seals 
and sea lions to be carefully locked up in 
their own quarters, for these animals are 
fond of taking little journeys on their own 
account about the building. At one time 
when in London, England, Toby and the rest 
of his company had quite an adventure of 
their own. In some way they pushed open 
the wooden door of their apartment in the 
middle of the night, scrambled out, and 
finally found their way upstairs and into the 
theater. After wandering round the orches- 
tra for a time— they left their marks plainly 



242 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

behind them— they went farther up still, and 
found their way into one of the best boxes, 
where, being very tired after their wander- 
ings, they settled down and went fast asleep. 

And in the morning there was great con- 
sternation for, although the trainer and his 
men searched all through the theater, they 
could find only occasional traces of their 
wanderings. But, just when they. had given 
up all hope of finding them, thinking they 
had got out of doors, there came a big sneeze 
from one of the boxes, and in a few moments 
all the animals were awake and being guided 
gently but firmly downstairs with many re- 
quests for fish on the way. 

I said "all," but in a few minutes it was 
found that poor Toby was not among them 
and, on going to look for him, he was found 
sound asleep in one of the proscenium boxes ! 
As it is always very difficult for a seal to 
walk on land, Captain Woodward carried him 
down. A sea lion can balance himself on his 
four flippers and get along fairly well with 
a loose, shambling gait, but a seal can only 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 243 

go forward with queer little bumps, caused 
by the muscles of his under body contracting, 
which is not only a great effort, but very tir- 
ing and exhausting to the animal. 

Toby is certainly the most remarkable seal 
I have ever seen. He has traveled nearly all 
over the world, even as far as Russia, where 
some of the people believed he must surely 
have an evil spirit to be able to do such won- 
derful tricks and to understand what his 
trainer told him. 

But since seeing Toby I have seen a sea 
lion that does even more wonderful things 
than Toby did. This is Wilmer, in the Bar- 
num and Bailey Circus, the only sea lion in 
the world that can ride on horseback. It is 
truly marvelous to see this animal climb up a 
ladder and mount his horse just as easily 
as though it were natural to him. And not 
only mount it, but keep his seat without the 
slightest danger of falling off or even slip- 
ping from the saddle. 

Round and round the ring he goes in an 
easy canter, and when his trainer, Captain 



244 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Winston, who spent years to accomplish this, 
throws him a large ball, he catches it, bal- 
ances it on his nose, and still continues his 
ride, poising himself and the ball in the most 
wonderful manner. Only once have I seen 
him drop the ball, and that was when the 
horse stumbled a little, which naturally caused 
him to lose his balance. 

Another clever trick is to blow a horn on 
horseback. I have seen several sea lion 
" bands," but never before seen one of these 
animals actually blow a horn, for in every 
other case there is generally a bulb attached 
to the instrument which, being pressed by the 
seal or sea lion, makes a noise. But this sea 
lion actually takes the end of the horn in his 
mouth and blows it, and the most amusing 
part of it is to see the desperate efforts and 
the peculiar faces he makes when doing it, 
screwing up his mouth and puffing his hardest. 

I found many people had the impression 
that this sea lion was fastened to the saddle 
in some way after he mounted the horse, but 
this is not so. The saddle is an ordinary 




< 
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W £ 

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a o 

2 

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& g 



SEALS AND SEA LIONS 245 

padded saddle such as is commonly used in 
circuses and he maintains his position simply 
by balancing himself, nothing else. 

At the end of the performance Wilmer pats 
his horse's neck with his flipper, in much 
the same way in which the other horseback 
riders do with their hands, and of course after 
his performance is over— with an odd bit or 
two in between — he gets his reward of fish. 
For with seals and sea lions, this is the main 
thing — no work, no fish, just as when teaching 
a dog a trick, it is no trick, no sugar. 



DOGS 



CHAPTER XIV. 
DOGS 

Bridge, Eskimo; Pluto, Great Dane. 

SO many dogs have become celebrated in 
various ways during their lifetime that 
it would take more than one whole book to 
write about them. From the famous mastiff of 
St. Bernard's who, in the beginning of the 
last century saved the lives of more than 
forty human beings, to the little plaything of 
a dog which Frederick, Prince of Wales, had 
given him by Alexander Pope, with a collar 
on which was inscribed: 

"I am his Highness* dog at Kew; 
Pray tell me, sir, whose dog are you ?" 

I am therefore, only going to speak of one 
or two who have come under my own per- 
sonal notice and observation. 

Perhaps one of the most noted and inter- 
esting dogs of recent years is Bridge, the 
Eskimo dog who accompanied Commander 



250 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Eobert Peary to the farthest north point on 
land, at the northeastern extremity of Green- 
land, on his last expedition but one. 

Although classed under the heading of 
"Domestic Animals/' the Eskimo dog is un- 
doubtedly still very much of a wild animal, 
being the most wolf -like of all the domestic 
breeds. As a matter of fact, he may be con- 
sidered, and is considered among most natur- 
alists, as merely a domesticated wolf. The 
general build of these animals, their rough 
coats, bushy tails, shortish, and yet sharp muz- 
zles, the wolf -like head with upstanding ears, 
resembles wolves so greatly that in many cases 
packs of Eskimo dogs have been mistaken for 
packs of wolves, even by those who have con- 
siderable knowledge of the appearance of 
these animals. Add to this that the Eskimo 
dog is, like the wolf, unable to bark, and it 
is little wonder that these mistakes have oc- 
curred so often. 

Bridge was the chief dog of the team which 
helped drag Commander Peary and his party 
over the ice to the point I have just men- 



DOGS 251 

tioned. The party consisted of Commander 
Peary, Hansen, one Eskimo, a colored man, 
and four dogs. Bridge was chosen to be the 
leader on account of his size, strength, and 
power of endurance. He was also an ex- 
tremely intelligent dog, and fairly good- 
tempered, a rare trait in an Eskimo dog. 

In appearance Bridge is a fine specimen, 
both in coloring, size, and proportions. Like 
all his kind he is curiously wolf -like, and in 
a dim light it would be almost impossible to 
distinguish him from a wolf. Before becom- 
ing the property of Commander Peary, 
Bridge had had a hard time of it, like all 
other Eskimo dogs, and had been made to 
travel sometimes thirty or forty miles a day 
with heavy loads. Added to this hardship, 
Bridge and his companions were given very 
little food. It is not much wonder that the 
dog teams fought viciously among themselves, 
often injuring one another so severely that 
they were either killed by their masters at 
once or left by themselves to die. 

Once with his new master, however, Bridge 



252 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

was treated kindly and well, although natur- 
ally he had to share the many hardships the 
rest of the party suffered. Among these hard- 
ships Bridge had several adventures which 
would have killed a less hardy animal than 
he. 

When Commander Peary made his dash 
over the ice from Cape Hope toward the 
north pole, Bridge went with him. Over the 
rough and enormous ice pack they went, risk- 
ing their lives, suffering from intense cold, 
terrible fatigue and great scarcity of food. 
But Bridge appeared as eager as his master 
not to give up, and pushed on until nearly a 
hundred miles had been covered under the 
most terrible difficulties. And then came 
worse difficulties than before. For the ice 
increased in roughness until finally the party 
reached a point where the huge floes of ice 
were piled up like small mountains, and even 
the daring explorer was forced to admit that 
it was impossible to go on any farther. 

Even Bridge had to give in, for no dog, 
however willing, could drag himself, much 



DOGS 253 

less heavy loads, up those small mountains of 
ice, and so most unwillingly the party had to 
turn back. Needless to say, the return jour- 
ney was far worse than the outgoing one, and 
poor Bridge was half dead when they reached 
safety. 

This, however, was not so painful an ad- 
venture as when, quite suddenly one day, the 
party came across that rare animal, the musk 
ox. He made a curious dark object against 
the surroundings of pure white, with his 
shaggy brown body, short, stumpy legs, round 
bright eyes, curved horns, and flat, hairy muz- 
zle. For some time he stood still and surveyed 
the intruders quietly, and then, for some un- 
known reason, went straight for Bridge. In 
all -probability the dog had never seen a musk 
ox before. The sudden onslaught apparently 
took him by surprise, and, although usually 
nimble and quick, this time he stood still long 
enough for the musk ox to reach him. 

Before any one had time to realize what 
was going to happen, the ox with lowered 
horns, had gored Bridge badly; Bridge made 



254 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

as much noise and fuss about it as he could. 
His howls were enough to terrify any creature, 
much more a musk ox, who seldom met any 
living creature. When the other dogs joined 
in, partly from terror and partly from sym- 
pathy, I suppose, the noise was deafening. 

I think I am right in saying that it was 
the flesh of this very musk ox which Com- 
mander Peary ate and pronounced . good eat- 
ing. Bridge, meanwhile, had to have his 
wounds dressed and for a time was a very 
sick dog. But he was tough and hardy, and 
soon recovered sufficiently to be able to go on 
with the others, although it was some little 
time before he was quite himself again. 

Another time an enormous polar bear met 
the party, and here again Bridge got the 
worst of it; for, being foolish enough to go 
too close to the bear, he was caught and clawed 
severely. Again he was a very sick dog. He 
was nervous and irritable for a long time after 
this, and all those in proximity had to be 
careful that his sharp, wolf -like teeth did not 
leave the impression which he seemed particu- 



DOGS 255 

larly anxious, to make on any who came near 
him. It was always a critical time when his 
wounds had to be dressed, and the greatest 
care had to be taken, not only in holding him, 
but to prevent his tearing the wounds open 
again. 

Bridge recovered finally, and seemed as 
strong as ever. He was a good hunter and 
fisher, and when provisions ran short he would 
sometimes find food for himself. When he 
did this, he also generally managed to keep 
it to himself, unless three dogs against one 
proved too much for him. 

Many more hardships and adventures did 
this Eskimo dog have but when, at last, the 
expedition was over, Bridge was the only dog 
out of the team that reached America alive. 
For, after that long, hard journey to the then 
furthest point north— where all the dogs were 
photographed— the three other dogs began to 
show queer symptoms. After watching the dogs 
carefully it was found that all were suffering 
from rabies, and one by one Commander 
Peary had to see his faithful followers die. 



256 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

All but Bridge, who, although he was thin, 
worn and weak, remained comparatively as 
healthy as ever. He alone returned with his 
master, and, as it was considered that he had 
done enough hard work, and been through 
sufficient hardships to last a dog's lifetime, he 
was given to the New York Zoological Park, 
where he now lives in ease and comfort and 
seems to enjoy it to the full. 

In order to make him feel at home and pro- 
mote his happiness, a wife was provided for 
him who was given the name of White Face 
and seems to be congenial in every way. Many 
Eskimo puppies have been born in the Park 
and are fine, healthy little animals, hardy and 
pugnacious, daring and defiant. It is an in- 
teresting sight to watch them fighting among 
themselves, one of the most curious phases of 
the fights being their sudden, fierce bursts of 
savage temper when things are not going just 
their way. 

Bridge may be seen now any day in the 
New York Zoological Park in one of the wolf 
pens, either pacing softly and quietly up and 



DOGS 257 

down with quick, active steps, looking in 
all directions with his keen, wolf -like eyes ; or 
sitting down quietly with his wife, or — if near 
his meal time — lifting up his voice in a melan- 
choly wail, whether in woe at the delay, or 
in anticipatory thanksgiving, I cannot say. 
But he is a fine study, and there is something 
a little human about him too, for, although, 
in the battle of life, he was all that a daring 
and hardy dog of endurance should be; yet 
there have been times when I have seen him 
completely subdued by some little exhibitions 
of temper on the part of his wife, who seems 
to domineer him in true feminine fashion. 

Another dog that always interested me very 
much, although he can hardly be classed un- 
der* the title of a wild animal, was " Pluto, " 
a magnificent Great Dane, belonging to Cap- 
tain Bonavita, the lion trainer who used to 
perform with twenty-seven lions at a time. 
For ten years these two were inseparable com- 
panions, Pluto always crossing the ocean 
with his master on his many visits to Europe, 
and, owing to his close attendance on him, be- 



258 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

ing termed by the other show people "Bona- 
vita's Body Guard." 

The first time I ever saw Pluto was at 
Richmond, Virginia, in Mr. Frank Bostock's 
wild animal show. He was standing by Cap- 
tain Bonavita, and, as I went over and be- 
gan talking to his master, Pluto sniffed me 
suspiciously, evidently not sure whether I 
were friend or foe. I noticed that Bonavita 
kept repeating constantly: 

" Pluto is a good dog. Yes, Pluto is a very 
good dog." 

As he interrupted the conversation to re- 
peat this over and over again, I at last asked 
him why he did it, and he said quietly he 
would tell me another time. And when Pluto 
was safely fastened up, he explained it to 
me. It seemed that when he wished to make 
this dog understand that a stranger was all 
right, Bonavita would say, "Pluto is a good 
dog, ' ' putting a great deal of emphasis on the 
"good/' 

But if he wished to be protected from a 
suspicious person, he would say, "Pluto is a 



BOGS 259 

bad dog/' laying the emphasis on the word 
"bad," and in this case, unless he held him 
back Pluto would spring straight for the 
throat of the enemy, and no doubt would 
kill him, for a Great Dane is a very powerful 
animal and has tremendous muscular power, 
especially when roused. 

When traveling, Pluto always took care of 
his master's belongings and in this way ren- 
dered him valuable service, especially when 
the show arrived at a new place and was un- 
loading. Many thefts are commonly com- 
mitted on these occasions as the many articles 
of all descriptions lying round afford splen- 
did opportunities for thieves. 

On these occasions Captain Bonavita would 
fasten the Great Dane to the handle of one 
of his trunks, and no one dare even approach 
the baggage until the return of his master. 
Wherever the show settled Pluto was always 
given the same place, a den under the arena. 
For one of the most valuable services he ever 
rendered his master was always to give warn- 
ing when danger was ahead from the lions. 



260 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

In some curious way Pluto always seemed 
to know when this danger was coming, and 
gave his warnings by low spirits, low mur- 
muring growls and an occasional melancholy 
howl. On one occasion he was particularly 
unhappy, and growled and whined continu- 
ally; this was at first partly attributed to the 
wet weather which always affected him, and 
partly to the fact that some new lions had 
just arrived in the show, a thing which Pluto, 
for some reason or other, always resented. 

Just before the evening performance, as 
soon as the band began to play, there was a 
low murmuring sound, which gradually de- 
veloped into a weird, bloodcurdling howl — 
such a howl that all the trainers in the show 
stopped whatever they happened to be doing 
at that moment and looked at one another in- 
quiringly. Never had Pluto been known to 
howl like that unless there was danger coming 
to Bonavita, and even he, brave man as he is, 
grew a little nervous and uncomfortable. 

But he laughed it off, saying Pluto had a fit 
of the " blues/' that the lions were in fine 



DOGS 261 

condition, in good tempers, and had been 
particularly good and obedient all that week. 
He went to Pluto, patted and comforted him, 
and thought very little more about the mat- 
ter, except to take extra precautions. But 
just before he entered the arena with his 
twenty-seven lions, Pluto did the same thing 
again, and his master, who was then in the 
runway — a narrow passage which runs be- 
hind the animals' cages— wondered what was 
the matter with the dog. 

However, he had not time to think much 
about it then, for at that very moment the 
signal came for him to go on, the band played 
his announcing " chord" and, with twenty- 
seven full-grown lions in front of him, he 
entered the arena and began to put the beasts 
through their performances. He had not gone 
far before he noticed that one of his lions, 
Ingomar, was in a very ugly mood, and after 
the first few minutes refused to do anything 
he was told. This is very dangerous because, 
in nearly all cases when one trained animal 
will not do what he is told, all the others f pi- 



262 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

low his bad example and also refuse to do 
what is expected of them. 

Attributing the animal's ill humor to jeal- 
ousy on account of the newcomers, and know- 
ing, therefore, that it would not be wise to 
insist on obedience on this occasion, Bona- 
vita decided to let Ingomar out of the arena 
and go through the performance without him, 
and for this purpose the door at the back of 
the arena was opened and Ingomar was 
turned toward it. By this time the lion had 
worked himself up into a fit of real bad tem- 
per, and as he passed one lion, he bit him 
savagely in the hind leg. 

Wild animals want very little provocation 
to fight at any time, and in this case the 
lion that had been bitten retaliated promptly 
and just as savagely as his assailant and, be- 
fore the trainer realized what was going to 
happen, the two were fighting fiercely. Of 
course, all the other lions got down from their 
pedestals one by one, and joined in the fight 
eagerly, and in a few minutes the whole lot 
of them were at it, and the trainer got out of 



DOGS 263 

the arena as best he could, but not before he 
had received some severe scratches and bites. 

For some time after this the lions were so 
cross and bad tempered that their perform- 
ances in the arena were stopped until they 
got over it. While this period of bad temper 
on the part of the lions lasted, Pluto was mis- 
erable and depressed, growling and barking, 
whining and howling, until his master and 
the others in the show were at their wit's end 
to know what to do with him. 

As soon as the lions quieted down and re- 
sumed their normal condition, going nor- 
mally through their performances again, 
Pluto also quieted down and recovered his old 
spirits once more. I can give no explanation 
of this ; I only know that it was so, and that 
it always happened previous to some out- 
break on the part of the lions. Naturally, in 
time, his master disliked to see him in this 
state, but could scarcely postpone his perform- 
ance on that account. 

Before the last terrible accident when Cap- 
tain Bona vita was nearly torn to pieces by 



264 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

Baltimore, a big Nubian lion, Pluto was in the 
most depressed and wretched state of mind, 
worse than he had ever been known to be be- 
fore but, as it was an exceptionally hot sum- 
mer, it was thought that possibly that might 
have something to do with it.* 

When the fateful day arrived he was more 
nervous than ever, and perhaps — who knows? 
—had his warnings been heeded that shocking 
affair might never have happened. As it was, 
his distress was pitiful to witness, and, the 
first few days that his master was in the 
hospital, where it was found that nothing 
eventually could save his right arm, so fear- 
fully had it been lacerated, Pluto would 
neither eat nor sleep, and during the long, 
tedious period of convalescence which followed 
through many weary months, the dog could 
scarcely be persuaded to leave him, even for 
the run which had always been such a joy to 
him. 

In time his own health suffered and he 



*A full description is given of this incident in the author's 
' Behind the Scenes With Wild Animals." 



DOGS 265 

grew weak and terribly emaciated. Whether 
it was through this or because he was getting 
old no one can tell, but at last when they were 
in Paris in 1905, Pluto grew quite ill, and 
in spite of every care and attention, finally 
got so very sick that there was no doubt at 
all to those who saw him that he had a very 
short time to live. 

The grief of his master was too great for 
words. He loved that dog dearly; they had 
shared bright and prosperous times together, 
hardship and sickness, and had not been 
separated for over ten years, with the ex- 
ception of the time Bonavita was in the hos- 
pital. When the dog finally died his master 
grieved for him as deeply and sincerely as 
though he had been a human being. 

Pluto died very peacefully and quietly 
with his big head resting on his master's only 
arm and his eyes never removed from his 
master's face until they closed for the last 
time. Captain Bonavita had him buried in 
the Cemetiere des Chiens, which is a pretty 
little island in the middle of the river Seine 



266 WILD ANIMAL CELEBRITIES 

in Paris. This little cemetery is used by 
many rich people for the burial of their pet 
cats, birds, horses, and dogs, and here Pluto 
rests, with flowers planted above his grave, 
at the head of which is a small tombstone with 
one word on it, 

PLUTO 
There have been hundreds of instances of 
faithfulness in dogs from the earliest times, 
but I have never heard of greater faithfulness 
or devotion than this dog showed toward his 
master. 



THE END. 



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